Sir Gabriel
by magicmumu
Summary: AU story set in a world of knights and princess', a woman who ran from home to become the best knight she always wanted to be. She never counted on entering a tournament that would change her world forever. Femslash! UPDATE: Fixed chapters 7, 9 and 17!
1. Chapter 1

Sir Gabriel

by Erin Griffin

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Rating: Strong R

Pairing: You'll figure it out soon enough

Summery: In order to live out her dream of becoming a knight, Gabrielle Andrews chops off her hair and becomes Gabriel Andrew, a mysterious man with two first names and no last name...

Author's Note: This story is completely AU, obviously. There will be some characters that you will not recognize, therefore they are mine. Everyone else is from the show, even though I scattered them about in different roles throughout the fic mostly for humor purposes.

Disclaimer: Yup, The WB accepted my offer of 2 Twinkies and my Erin Beanie Baby this morning over the phone... No, damn that was my dream last night... sigh I own maybe 5 characters throughout this whole fic. Everyone else belongs to... well, all those that aren't me... and that are rich by now, damn them...

Warning: There is a lot of violence, a little bit of torture, some cussing, and other things like that in this fic, as the medieval period was not a very pretty time. Also, I would like to apologies to Dinah in advance. What else... Oh, if you are a Detective Reece (spelled in here as Rhyse) fan, don't read this fic, lol.

Dedicated as always to Angel and Dallas, whom have both helped me throughout this fic (and my real life) by telling me about the medieval time period (Dallas, who knows what she'd talking about and I don't, lol) or just by being there for me (Angel, love ya lots). Thank you both so much. This is for you.

**Chapter 1**

Voices shouted above one another, drowning out the flute music that played in the background. The dining hall wasn't always this rowdy, but tonight there is a reason for raised voices and the noisy clatter of toasted cups of ale and wine. That very afternoon a man had been knighted. A very well liked man at that. "Congrats Gabe, Laddy!" A voice shouted over all, or perhaps it seemed that way since the voice was raised and blaring right into the ear of the man being spoken to. Thadius Manx, a man with greying hair, dark brown eyes (and even darker long brown hair in areas it wasn't greying), stared at the celebrated man. Or at least, to Thadius, he was a celebrated man. No one at that table (or the rest of the kingdom for that matter) knew that the one whom had been knighted that afternoon was actually a woman named Gabrielle Andrews from a neighboring kingdom. To them, she was known as of that afternoon as Sir Gabriel Andrew, a man with two first names, but no last name. He was a mysterious man, and Gabrielle (Gabby to those who didn't want any broken limbs when she was a child) liked it that way. Gabby always wanted to become a knight, and if she wasn't a woman, she would have had no troubles becoming one, for she knew that had she been a man, she would have proven herself just the same and might have been one faster. She was 19 or so winters old when she cut off her golden locks and left home. Gabby knew that if she stayed in her home pretending to be a boy, not only would she get in trouble, but her parents would as well. She couldn't bare to see that happen. She could hardly bare to leave home, but the life that awaited her wasn't the life for her. To marry a man that she could never love even if she wanted to...

"Thanks, Thadius my man!" the new knight said to the burly man to her right. Gabby owed her new success to this man. When she'd arrived at the Pennyworth kingdom, this man had given her a place to stay and train. He was like a second father to her, bringing her up like the son he never had. Thadius was a married man, with a beautiful wife Irene and a couple of daughters, and together they were a nice family for 7 years. Time had come to prove herself when a war broke out the year before. Gabby thought she'd die herself from the shock of killing another man. She'd killed 9, in fact (she counted, praying for each one to have a safe passing and for her own forgiveness). Not understanding why, Gabby had seen King Alfred on the battle field and was one of the four men guarding him. The other men died, and Gabby had no choice but to kill the 9 men that were trying to kill her king. The war ended many nights ago, but the king had scrolls to sign before he could come back to the kingdom. It was then that Gabby- er- Gabriel Andrew was knighted. Gabby smiled widely at the man to her left , to which the large man smiled back before returning to his ale and plate of meats and bread. Gabby also returned to her plate, half filled with fruits, cheese, and a couple of carrots for her horse, Nix. Thadius looked over at Gabby's plate in disgust.

"Y'know, you've got to be the only knight in all of Europe that doesn't eat meat, Gabriel." he pointed out yet again. This was the start of banter between them that occurs at almost all meal times, even on nights when the two combined couldn't catch any game. Gabby rolled her eyes as she always does. "Look at ye'; Yer a scrawny thing. That ain't good for a man your age. What are your sons going to look like? They'd get beaten by the village maidens, that's what's to come of them, and all because their sire was a skeleton." he said, sure of himself.

"You know I can't stomach the carcass of a forest beast, Thadius. Besides, who said my sons -or daughters for that matter- won't grow strong without the consumption of meat?" The older knight snorted into his cup, now refilled for the 4th time.

"I doubt it." Thadius said.

"My daughters as tykes would easily beat any of your full grown grandchildren," Gabby said, and grinned at the thought.

Well, in order to have any improper daughters, you have to find yourself a lass and marry. It's hard to believe that a lad your age hasn't even courted a woman. You've got the look, I mean, women love the soft look you've got." Thadius was rambling more now, but he still stuck to the same argument that they'd always gotten into.

"Not this again, old man!" Gabby groaned. "It's not too late. I'm 26 summers old. I have time." Gabby was expecting a reply along the lines of 'All of the good women of breeding will be taken by the time you get around to them. All that will be left are the improper women and the king's whores.' Thadius opened his mouth and was probably about to say just that when a shout brought their attention away from their argument.

"SEER! Do you have good news for our knights going off to Wayne kingdom for the tournament?" King Alfred asked. Everyone turned to the entrance of the dining hall. There stood a common looking young woman with hair a lighter blonde than Gabby's hair was, for her hair was a golden blonde, as this girl's hair was more of a white/ blonde. Her dress was a simple blue dress, one you would see the children wear as they went outside to play. This girl's name is Dinah Redmond. Gabby rolled her eyes as the men rushed to seat this young woman. It wasn't that Gabby disliked Dinah; Gabby just pretended not to like her so she didn't have to go near her. She was afraid of the woman's powers. That's right, powers. Everyone in the kingdom knew of Dinah Redmond and what she could see. Since she was 9 years old and dreamt of the poisoning of the king (Alfred's father), Dinah has been known as a seer, a witch who sees the future... But Dinah was different. Seers see only the future, and if this is so, then how can she know things about one's life by a brief touch? She can see anyone's past, present, or future with the slightest touch, which is why Gabby always kept her distance from the younger blonde. The young knight watched as Dinah sat down, then looked at King Alfred. The king was very fond of Dinah, for that night when she saw the king's poisoning, she also dreamt of the prince's poisoning as well, and had stopped it from happening. True, it was in the only way she knew how (which was running in screaming madly, then knocking the goblet of wine from the young man's royal hands), but it had saved him.

"Your Highness, I fear that there will be injuries, but also a few victories as well." King Alfred seemed pleased to hear it. Dinah was never wrong with her 'predictions', so no one ever questioned her readings.

"And what of our newest knight?"

"Sir Gabriel..." She started to say, looking the new knight in the eyes. "Well, you know my readings, sir. I cannot see much of what's to come for them unless I have come into contact with him." In seconds, Gabby's skin turned pale. Everything she's ever known could be revealed and destroyed if Dinah ever saw within her like she had for so many men and women before her.

"Later. You'll give him his reading another time." All of the superstitious men who were curious to see what was to come of the young knight groaned in disappointment as the seer started to eat some of the duck that was set in front of her. The whole room continued its chatter.

"This tournament should be the perfect chance, lad."

"Excuse me?" Gabby asked Thadius.

"The tournament. King Bruce said that if there are a lot of unmarried men in this tournament, he'd give up half of his kingdom, his daughter's hand in marriage, and a large dowry to the victor." He lowered his voice some, "We all know how skilled you are at hunting, sword fighting, and jousting... though I think your jousting could use a little work... You are better than any of the men here and just as good as me. There are, o' course gonna be married knights there to make themselves even more known, and I s'pose they'd earn some money if one o' them wins, but I think you... You are gonna win it. Talk to King Bruce when you get there, and you can compete for the princess' hand." Thadius said.

"I'll think on it, but for now I'm just competing for the same reason the other men are. Mostly, it is just for the sport of it." Gabby said. She knows that she's not going to give it a second thought. Even if she wanted to, the princess would never, never love her. Princess Helena Wayne didn't love other women as Gabby did. Even if she did, what use would she be as a 'husband'? She couldn't physically give her any children. She couldn't be anyone's sire. But Thadius didn't know all this, so she pretended that she just wasn't ready to settle her life with a family just yet.

" 'Ey, Gabriel, are you alright? Gabriel Andrew?" Thadius punched Gabby's arm, and she glared at him, threatening to hit him back, but they both knew that she never would at the dining table. She respected him too much, and hitting him like that in front of other men made her look almost savage. "You don't look too good." That was just one of the reasons why Gabby respected the older knight so. He was always looking out for her as well as his family, even if he was drunk.

"Yeah, I reckon I should go to my bed chambers after I feed Nix." Thadius nodded, and Gabby stood up. She bowed to the king who raised his glass as a departure. She walked slowly to the stables where her horse stood, staring at her carefully, expecting something from her. "Hi." She whispered to the horse. In there, she wasn't Gabriel. She was a normal girl. To Nix, she was Gabby. She didn't have to deepen her voice for him. He wouldn't have bought it anyway. She handed him one of the carrots, which he took graciously. She slowly petted his head and side as he ate. Nix knew everything about who she was and who she never will be. "Men don't usually say this to other men, but you are beautiful." She said in a mocked tough voice. Nix snorted as if to laugh at her, and Gabby softly giggled as well. Nix was a beautiful horse though, dark brown with a black mane. The young knight spent the next 10-15 minutes in the stables in silence with Nix, just watching him as he watched her. It was almost as if the beloved horse was expecting her to say something. After another minute of silence, Gabby patted the horse one more time before hurrying out of the stables. She let herself wander around outside for a while before she went towards her room.

Gabby was almost to her temporary bed chambers (which was a surprise she knew her way to it since her head was down and she was watching the stone floors) when she ran into someone. "Ooph!!" grunted a feminine voice. The knight grabbed onto the hand that was struggling to get up, and helped the fallen body to get to her feet.

"Oh dear. I'm so sor-" Gabby stopped abruptly and let go of the hand when she had seen whom she'd run into. "So- My apologies, Miss Redmond." A chill ran down her spine as she found she couldn't meet the seer's eyes.

"Ga- Ga- you're-"

"Shh!" Gabby quickly grabbed the young blonde by the wrist, and after making sure no one else was in the corridor, pulled Dinah into her room and shut the door behind them.

"This is absurd! I'm not one of the king's whores, impostor! Let me out this instant!" Gabby put a finger to her lips to try and shush the woman, but she kept going on. Gabby was desperate. Her life was in this woman's hands and Dinah Redmond knew it.

"Please! Don't tell anyone what you saw within me just now. I-I just wanted to become a knight. It's all I ever wanted and this... It was the only way." Gabby found tears falling from her eyes. She went to her knees and her hands covered her face, so the seer couldn't see the tears fall from her eyes. "Please..." She begged the 18 or 19 year old young woman standing before her. It was silent for a little while as if the seer didn't know what to say or do.

Finally, she said "Look at me, Gabrielle Andrews." The young knight obeyed, not even attempting to correct her, saying as a young girl she was known as Gabby. "I won't tell... on one condition." Gabby stood up and regained herself as she dried her eyes. If you weren't looking closely, you wouldn't have known that she'd cried.

"Please, I'll do anything."

"Tell me, when are you leaving for the tournament in the Wayne kingdom?" The knight looked up at Dinah, eyes slightly reddened, but also filled with curiosity. She tried to think. The men: Thadius, his friend Cashius and his twin sons, and a man who was knighted just before the war were all going to leave the next morning at dawn. Gabby traveled separately, so she planned to leave at midday and she would try to catch up to them right before they entered the kingdom.

"Well, I will be leaving tomorrow by midday. For obvious reasons, I travel alone. The men just think I am antisocial when it comes to long trips." Gabby shrugged.

"I want to go with you." Dinah said bluntly.

"Not that I wont take you, but won't you be missed here?"

"I am not going to spend the rest of my life as some fortune-teller, Gabriel. I am only known here as Seer. I have a name. I want to be known by that name, if only for a couple of days at this tournament." Gabby thought it over.

"Alright then, Dinah." She made sure she added in her name. "Get your things together tonight, and meet me in the stables at midday. Have you a horse?"

"That I do." the seer said, and Gabby nodded.

"Alright then," She repeated. Gabby opened the door to her room and bowed quickly to Dinah as she left the chambers. "I will see you tomorrow." Dinah said nothing as she started to walk down the corridors towards her own chambers. "Thank you." Gabby said softly, but it was still loud enough to echo far enough to reach the seer's ears. The younger blonde stopped in her tracks for a second, then continued her walk.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

_"My father says I am going to be the greatest knight ever." Johnny Boy, as everyone in his family called him, was sitting on a rock next to Gabby, his feet hanging over it as he spoke, and Gabby was sitting on the grass next to him, looking up at the boy. He was thin, but strong, and at first sight no one would ever believe that he COULD become a knight. His father was a knight though, so he could easily become one if he trained hard when he became a man. The two were sharing their midday meals as they always did since they were tykes. They were now older, Gabby being 13 and Johnny Boy being 12, but they never faltered in this tradition. The only thing that has changed from then is the fact that Johnny Boy would sometimes speak of a girl in the marketplace that he liked to watch, not knowing that sometimes Gabby liked to watch her too. Sometimes, Johnny Boy's younger sister Beth came out if it suited her, but mostly it was just them, discussing what the knights were rumored to be doing at that point._

_"I want to be a knight too." Gabby decided. This was no new decision, nor was the conversation to come a new thing between the pair._

_"You can't be a knight, silly." Johnny Boy said, taking a bite of his apple. Gabby wiped her own apple on her dress skirt, then stared at it, deciding she wasn't hungry anymore._

_"And why not?! I bet I'd whoop you in any sword fight, and when we play Dragonhunt, our swordfights were always my victory." she protested in a tired tone. Gabby was tired of being told that no, she couldn't be a knight because she was to be a woman in a few years. She didn't want to be a housewife. That just didn't feel right to her._

_"Girls can't be knights, Gabby, I'm sorry. That is just the way it is." Johnny Boy responded._

_"Why is it the way it is? Why can't a woman put on that armor and participate in a joust?!"_

_"You're being silly. You've always known. I didn't make the rules. Someone from hundreds and hundreds of years ago did."_

_"I'll be a better knight than you will ever be. I'll show you!" she growled._

_"If they let women become knights, I know you will be." Johnny Boy defended himself. "You know that if I could I would change the rules so that you and me can have a real joust with horses and everything." he said in a softened voice. He sighed._

_"I know. And the crowd would be screaming our names because they aren't sure which knight would win, but they wouldn't care either way because they'd be promised a good match no matter what." Johnny Boy grinned._

_"If there was ever a knightly team, we'd be it! And we'd be the best. You and me." Gabby returned her best friend's grin._

_"Yeah!" she agreed._

"I'm tired." Dinah whined. She was sitting on top of her nameless horse as Gabby walked along-side Nix, deciding long ago that carrying a wagon behind him, plus her weight would be too much for him. They were at that point going through a grassy area and that was slowing them down, for Gabby was sure she would have been way past this point of the journey come nightfall. The sun was threatening to set within minutes, yet Gabby needed to get them out into a more open area before she can allow them to stop and make a camp.

"How can you be tired? You haven't walked or got off of that horse since you got on it. " the knight said distractedly. To be honest, Dinah hadn't been very social throughout the whole trip thus far, and Gabby wouldn't care if she'd continued in her own world within her thoughts. She felt it was unfair though, that Dinah knew more about her in a fraction of a second than the knight would probably ever care to learn in the duration of the trip, and this made her a little bitter towards the seer. Dinah muttered words under her breath that weren't caught by the knight. "Excuse me?" Gabby asked, looking back at the young girl.

"I said 'My buttocks are getting sore'!" Dinah shouted in a manner that suggested that Gabby was dimwitted.

"You wanted to come along. A sore rear is to be expected." Gabby said with a shrug, figuratively shaking off the seer's insult. She lead Nix away from a hole in the ground that would break an axel or worse, one of Nix's legs.

"You wanted me to keep your secret, so whining's to be expected," Dinah responded, mimicking the knight. Gabby stopped walking for a minute before she turned around, letting go of Nix's reigns, and marched over to the younger blonde. She looked up at her figure, which was slumped over the back of the horse, her head laying lazily on the horse's mane and her feet dangling at the horse's side. Gabby briefly wondered if the seer was uncomfortable in such a position, but the fact that she'd been like that for several hours suggested that she wasn't. The knight grabbed Dinah's feet, tugging them hard enough to yank the girl from the horse and she slid easily into her arms. Gabby helped the girl to the ground, then turned and walked on, grabbing Nix's reigns once again. Dinah's horse seemed content to just follow slowly behind Nix. Dinah's horse was mostly white with black speckles everywhere. As far as Gabby could tell, the sex of the seer's horse was female. Gabby once or twice wondered why the horse didn't have a name, but she never could summon the courage to talk to the seer, for in her own ways, she intimidated the knight.

"Your sore backside will disappear after you walk it off. I dare you to complain about that." she responded. Not the most witty of things to say, and Gabby was sure that given time she'd be able to come up with many responses to that in which she would have said instead, had she the ability to reverse time.

Her empty threat worked none the less, and after a murmur of "Well, I suppose I should be the first to admit I deserved that..." in which then knight heard, they were off again in another silence, this time not as comfortable. Gabby wasn't sure how long they were walking when the grass seemed to get shorter and they had reached flatter grounds.

"I will set up camp here." the blonde knight muttered, working from the wagon, trying to haul out the tent. Dinah came up and helped her set up the tent in silence.

"So, what do you think the Wayne kingdom is like?" Dinah asked as she watched Gabby build a fire many minutes later. Gabby thought this through, then looked up at the seer.

"I don't know much, just what Thadius has told me from when he went there, but he said it is a large and wondrous sight." Gabby responded. "There is a large jousting field right next to the castle, almost as if it was built as the king's playing grounds. 'Heard it was bigger than King Alfred's. King Bruce sounds like a nice man. Thadius said that he has a corridor in his castle just for his guests that I s'pose we'd be using for the tournament. Which is a blessing, since it looks as if the skies will fall on us, and rain is to come in the next few days." Dinah nodded.

"I hope to make a friend there. You are the only one I will know other than as a passing glance, and when you are off on your tasks for the tournament, then what am I to do?"

"Well, I believe you will fit in with the other maidens, Dinah." Gabby said. She was sure that Dinah would become fast friends with a maiden or two while she was there. In this new place, no one will know of the seer's power, and therefore no one would be afraid of her. If people looked past the power that the girl was born with, then she had an endearing face that was more than easy to trust, which could have been a good thing or a bad thing, Gabby had yet to figure out which.

The fire crackled in it's place as Dinah bid Gabby a good night after a meal of bread, apples, and water. Gabby'd set up the tent just for the seer. She herself preferred to sleep under the stars while the weather allowed it. The moon was but a sliver now, and the next night Gabby knew there would be no moon at all, which was a thought that slightly disappointed her. There was nothing in the knight's eyes more enchanting than the site of the moon and the stars as they gathered around in a place higher than she'd ever reach. Gabby often wondered if there were other worlds out there where women and men were equal, or even (she thought with a giggle) a place where men took care of the children and cooked and cleaned while women earned the daily bread. Of course she knew there was no such place, and she doubted that this world even hundreds of years in the future would ever be that equal, but it was a nice thought to entertain her mind with at night.

_Gabby sat on her bedding of linens and frowned at the nothingness ahead of her as her father tried to explain to her the reasons for his actions. He'd brought home another potential. This one's name is Manuel, a child still himself, yet shy, polite, and well mannered. Everything she'd ever want in a husband. That is, if she'd wanted a husband, a fact that her father and mother hadn't even considered. To them, of course she wanted a husband. That was ever girls' dream, was it not? If Gabby could, she'd definitely say 'not'. She didn't want this. She never wanted this. After a long lecture about her behavior towards Manuel when she'd met him, her parents both left for the market, leaving Gabby to clean as a punishment for her rudeness, for Casper Andrews raised a more proper daughter than that. There was an absurd thought that churned in Gabby's mind for many days now, but did she have the courage to do it ? Yes, she decided. Today is the day. She threw down the linens she'd been folding and went on a search. She looked about her sleeping area, kicking wooden dolls to the side, moving around her homemade arrows that would never in any life time work with even the most crafted of bows, and picking up her wooden sword for a second as she remembered the way she used to play with it constantly with Johnny Boy. As of late, her father said to put it up and to never play with it again, for she is a woman now, a full 19 years of age. Finally, she came across what she was looking for, a small dagger that Johnny Boy had given her before he left when he'd become a man to peruse his dream of being a knight. It had been a present... kind of. "You can't keep this, Gabby, because you know it is my favorite... but you must keep it with you as a way to know that I will come back to see you." he'd said._

_"I promise you that I will return it to you." She vowed to him then._

_By now it had gone dull from the many times he slashed at trees and grass with it, foolishly forgetting to ask his father how to sharpen it. Gabby knew that she had to resharpen it herself, and the only way she knew how was by taking a rock to it. 'Oh how much I miss you Johnny Boy.' Gabby thought as she took a deep breath and went to find a rock that will be suitable for sharpening the dagger. The one thing that concerned the girl was how she was to keep that promise to Johnny Boy if she was to go through with what she had planned. Gabby picked up the rock she felt would best do the job, and got to work. Deep in thought, Gabby let the rock slide down the blade many times, testing it with her own fingers to see how sharp it was. Finally, when her finger bled, she took the dagger to her throat grabbing some of her hair, and sliced. She watched as her long golden hair fell to the ground before her. She knew that if her hair stayed the way it was, it would make her look feminine, but if she put it in a ponytail, she wouldn't look as so. Gabby didn't know when to expect her parents back from the market this time, so she hurriedly packed some food, changed into a set of her father's clothes and rushed off. Where she was going, she didn't know. If she died tomorrow, at least she knew she wouldn't die a miserable death._

"Would you mind if I joined you?" The soft voice made the knight jump. She had been deep into her thoughts, turning over the dagger that she'd never let go of even if her life itself depended on it. It was the only thing besides her memories she had of her old life before the Manx's and she didn't ever want to lose it. Gabby turned to look at Dinah, whom had her blanket wrapped around her shoulders. "This sounds absolutely juvenile, but I had a dream... It wasn't... It wasn't something that scared me, but it was filled with so much emotion that it felt odd to lay in the tent alone." the girl felt a need to explain.

"Please, sit..." Gabby said, gesturing to the seer. She then looked at the fire, which was only a soft glow of embers now. "Would you like to tell me of this dream?" the knight asked in a low voice. "My mother... When I was a child and had dreams, she would listen to them, and even if they were the silliest of things to dream of, she still listened. Her ears helped me in more ways than she will ever know." the knight said.

"It was just so bizarre. It felt real, only, the things that happened within this dream can't possibly happen. I am in this dream, with a red haired woman and a brown haired woman standing by my side. I can't see their faces, for they are wearing masks of some sort, but I trust them. I trust them with my whole existence. We were family, us three, and we lived inside a giant sundial... and it didn't seem odd to us that we lived there. It was as if we were hiding from the world, even though none of us were disfigured. I felt... I felt like a hero, but everyone knew my name... never my face. My powers were the same as they are now as far as I can tell, but the woman with brown hair... there was... a beast within her... and when I touched this woman... So much pain, Gabriel... So much loneliness."

"Hey," Gabby said softly, touching the woman to send her out of her trance. "It was all a dream, remember? You are safe now."

"Of course." Dinah agreed, pulling the blanket around her a little more.

"Are you still cold?" the knight asked the seer, seeing her shiver. "I reckon I have another blanket in the wagon."

"Yes, I am a little bit." Dinah admitted sheepishly, as if afraid to be of any trouble to the knight. Gabby got up and went to the wagon that she'd unhitched from Nix long ago, and searched in the dark for the last blanket, which she'd packed in case the ground that she'd lie upon was wet. She wrapped the blanket over Dinah and then sat down on her bedding again. " It is nights like these that I miss my parents also." the younger blonde whispered.

"What happened to them?" Gabby blurted before she could hold her tongue. "No, that was impolite of me-"

"I don't know what happened to them. I was about 8 years of age, and I had started to have weird dreams of the king's death. Everyone seems to know that story."

"Aye." Gabby agreed, settling in so that she was comfortable to hear Dinah's side of this well known story.

"The dreams got more frequent and more urgent until it seemed as if my dreams were saying to me 'What are you waiting for?! He needs you, and you are the only one who can save him.' I ran all the way to the castle and demanded to see the king. He was of course in the banquet hall eating... I didn't make it to him in time. He had already fallen over, dead from this sweetened poison. King Alfred at the time was just sitting down to his meal. I had to save him somehow, and that was the only way I could think of to do it, for my voice was too small to warn him. You know the rest, he was saved, became king that night... But he wouldn't let me go home. I told him I had to get back to bed or my mother would have a fit." Dinah stopped talking for a minute as if to hide the crack in her voice. "Gabriel, I slept in the castle from then on, not knowing what truly happened that night. There was a woman there, Miss Sandy, or sometimes Shiva depending on who you were to her, and she showed me around the castle, telling me where I could go and where I couldn't. I walked those corridors hearing rumors that I was sold to King Alfred, my parents given the things they only dreamed of having. I don't know... I can't complain, though. King Alfred has said to me many times over the years that I am free to leave whenever I wanted and that I am not a prisoner... and that he'd always keep a space available in his castle for me, which is a sweet gesture."

"You did, after all, save his life." Gabby said softly.

"Did you not, in the heat of a war, Gabriel?" Dinah asked.

"That I did, but to him I am not a woman, and we all know that Alfred is weakened only by a giggle from a woman's lips." Dinah smiled, knowing that this was true.

"Tell me... about how you decided to become a knight." the seer requested softly.

"I thought you'd seen that in my mind." Gabby said, her body tensing up as it went into a defensive state.

"No. I see and feel only what the person is thinking at the time." Dinah explained. "You were thinking on your fears about the future and of what you cannot physically have when leading the life you now live. You were thinking on what your sons would look like had they taken on your features."

"Well... Part of my running away was a way for me to act out against my parents' wishes, but another part of my running away was to protect them. My best friend then had a sister that I had come to admire. There were many times when urges became strong, wanting to kiss her and such. I didn't want to get out of line, and I didn't want my parents shunned and talked about for having an improper daughter. They would have been accused of teaching me some sort of craft... I just couldn't risk all that." Gabby said. "I ran for a while, not sure where exactly I was going, and soon made it to the Pennworth kingdom after many days of walking . Finally, I reached King Alfred's jousting field where I watched the knights practice and train, for there was an event going on that very day. I stayed for the events, watching swordfights with great intensity. I found that all of the knights had a squire except for one. After the match, in which this knight won, I ran after him, asking if he needed a squire. Of course he didn't, but I was desperate to start somewhere. Somehow I persuaded him to give me a fraction of a chance, and that was all I needed."

"So you proved yourself to Thadius Manx and you two have been almost inseparable since."

"Almost, yes." Gabby agreed. "I think he took pity on my thin and frail form, not having eaten in days at that time." The young knight chuckled, and Dinah joined in. They stayed in a comfortable silence, thinking things over, Dinah connecting the images from what she saw of Gabby cutting her hair to the thought of Gabby pleading with Thadius to give her a chance. Gabby thought about what it must have felt like to almost grow up in a castle without many people her age to talk to. At least Gabby had Johnny Boy. After a while she looked at Dinah, whom was asleep. Gabby smiled, hoping that the seer's sleep would go undisturbed this time.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Gabby and Dinah a woke early the next morning, packed up the tent, rehitched the wagon, and slowly made their way to the Wayne Kingdom. Both woman ate while they walked, and after having a little bit of food within them, seemed in a better mood for chatting. They spoke of the little things, neither of them willing to give up too much about their pasts, but also not wanting to walk in silence as they had the day before. To Gabby's relief, she saw the Wayne castle by midday, which was the biggest and most beautiful of the castles she'd ever seen. She was surprised to see that Thadius had his tent set up right outside the castle, his flag waving madly in the winds that had picked up a bit, and was obviously waiting for her. "Gabriel! Boy, I was getting worried. Damn, you always do that. I don't understand why you have to travel alone all the time. Your family is here, y'know. There is no need to take an extra day when you could easily get there on time for once." The older knight lectured, and Gabby let him say what he had to say to get it out of his mind, having obviously been running around in it for quite a few hours from the way he spoke.

"Forgive me old man, but I had a traveling companion, and I had to remember my manners." Gabby said, pointing her left thumb behind her. Thadius just seemed to see Dinah, and looked from the younger blonde to Gabby.

"You've brought the seer." he stated.

"She's told me that she'd seen herself at this tournament." Gabby said slowly. Thadius watched as Gabby helped the girl off of her horse. When she gently let her to the ground, Gabby grabbed Thadius in a headlock which he'd quickly gotten out of. "Didn't reckon there's be a problem with her presence."

"There's a slight... sleeping arrangement that will be a problem. You see, all of the rooms are now taken. I was just barely able to get you your own quarters for the duration of the tournament."

"It is fine. If Gabriel doesn't mind, I will sleep in his quarters. I trust that we could share a room without complications. I will just need to find some extra linens for the floor if need be." Dinah spoke up.

"Out of the question!" Gabby said in a loud voice, making both Dinah and Thadius' head whip to look at her. "A lady never sleeps on the floor. You will have the bed. I will take care of getting extra linens for the bedding on the floor of our quarters." she continued, shrugging.

"You can't be thinking of going through with this, Gabriel. Sharing a room with a woman? Do you know what they are going to think?" he asked.

"Yes. I am aware of it, Thadius, but she'd have no where to sleep otherwise. If it bothers people that much, I will set up a tent here and I can sleep out here."

"Don't. The rain will fall and the wind will rip that tent apart. I'd rather you be inside the castle." Thadius rubbed his eyes. "If you're sure this will work, then have at it. Come, Boy. Help me with my things and we'll get the two of you settled in." Gabby did as she was told, handing her reigns to Dinah to hold and forcefully ripping the Pennyworth Kingdom's flag, white and green, from it's place in the ground.

"Rumor has it that there is a knight that has yet to arrive, so you aren't the only one who is late. Sir Rhyse Hawk from the Hawk Kingdom has sent a messenger to the king last night saying that he will be late. There are bad weather conditions in his kingdom, and it may take a couple of days. Which would be just as well, since it would give us some time to practice your jousting skills." Gabby nodded, and they worked in silence from then on.

Once Thadius' tent was packed up, they all entered the castle's perimeters. Slowly they made their way to the stables, where a boy of about 16 years of age was washing down one of the horses. When he saw the three walk in, he stopped what he was doing and greeted them. "Welcome." he said shyly. "I will take care of things from here." he said. He took Nix's reigns from Gabby and lead him to an area in the back, where there were other wagons. The three watched as the boy lead the horse to his own stall, fed him some grain and then started to do the same with Dinah's horse and Thadius' horse. Thadius's horse was purely black, and she was a stubborn thing, giving the stable boy some troubles. Finally, he went back to the three of them after whispering to the horse. Thadius handed the boy six golden coins.

"Take good care of them, for if you don't, I am not sure what Gabe here would do."

"I will, sir. No need to worry about that." the boy reassured.

"Well, that being said, I will show you to the quarters. I had a look around last night, but I wanted to wait for you to make sure you arrived safely." Thadius said. Gabby reached out her elbow to the seer and Dinah took it, allowing the younger knight to escort her to their quarters. They entered the castle, and ran in to Cashius and his twin sons Brian and Charles. The twins both had light brown hair that was longer than Gabby's, put up in a black ribbon to keep it out of their eyes. It was quite difficult to tell the two apart, except for the fact that Charles had a scar on his left hand from the war. They all said their hello's to the seer and the two knights before continuing out to the jousting field where the twins had planned to practice their sword fighting skills. After Thadius showed them to their quarters, he left to go to the great hall for his midday meal.

"I'll go get the bedding and some of your garments from the wagon, Dinah. If you wish to go eat, I will meet you there."

"I don't know my way there. I think I will wait here and we can go together." Gabby nodded . She was told before Thadius left where the dining hall was, but she knew she'd have a little troubles finding it. The knight walked out of the room and back out the way in which she'd come. She saw the stable boy sitting on a large pile of hay, looking through his pockets. Upon seeing her, he stood up.

"Is there anything I can help you with, Sir?" he asked, sounding eager to please all of the knights.

"No, I am just getting some blankets from my wagon." Gabby said, petting Nix.

"What did you name him, sir? I know he has a name, but he has many secrets to keep, and his name is one of them." he said softly. Gabby looked at the boy, and he seemed a little embarrassed for saying what he had.

"You speak as though you can talk to them." Gabby said with an amused grin.

"Don't speak to them, but I feel as if sometimes I can understand them, which is why I am here. I know what they need before they know they need it. Been told that I am the best stable hand ever known to the king." He stated this as a fact recited, not as a brag.

"What is your name?"

"K-Kafka sir. I don't like to use my father's last name, so I am just known as Kafka." Gabby looked at Nix.

"What do you think my horse is saying or thinking now?" Kafka looked at Nix and then smiled.

"He's wondering where 'is carrot is, sir." Gabby laughed.

"Is that all I am good for, Nix?" She asked, patting him.

"Nix... Quite a unique name."

"Yeah. I don't remember what made me think of it, but it seemed as unique as him." Gabby moved to get the blankets from the wagon, then went to Nix. "I will be back at dusk with your carrots, boy. I promise." Nix lazily flicked his tail to the side. She looked up at Kafka and frowned when she saw the look on the boy's face.

"He's warning you about something..." he started to say. "He won't tell me what, but he's making me feel as if he's warning you about that girl."

"Dinah's harmless."

"I know, and he knows... but I think it is what she knows that will eventually hurt you."

"I'll be fine." Gabby said, frowning. Why would Dinah's knowledge of her secret hurt her? She wouldn't tell anyone, she'd promised.

"He trusts you more than his other owner before you, and he doesn't want you to get hurt." Kafka added, taking a brush and starting to groom him.

"Thanks, Kafka. Bye Nix."

"Goodbye." Gabby hurried back to the castle, trying to remember where her quarters were. When she had found it, she knocked on the door to make sure that Dinah wasn't indecent. Of course she wouldn't be, but she had to make sure. She could have been adjusting some form of her dress.

"Who's there?" She called through the door.

"It's Gabriel." Gabby called.

"You may enter. It is your quarters, too you know." Dinah answered. Gabby opened the door and grinned sheepishly at the seer. She shrugged.

"I was just being cautious."

"I understand." Dinah said. Gabby looked around the room for the first time since she got there. Right inside the room was a small fire pit to her right, but the fire wasn't going in it at that point. She looked in front of her and saw the bed that Dinah was now laying on.

"It's a bit dark in here." Gabby observed that there was a small window on the left wall, but it was to small to let much light into the room. There was a small table with an oil lamp and candle on it, but there was no flame to light the room.

"Yes, it is. Sort of eerie in here as well."

"I will be quick, then we can leave." Gabby said, watching as Dinah had a look of fear on her face. "Are you alright?"

"I am fine. I am just uncomfortable in darkness sometimes. Some of the things I have seen... It is a wonder some people sleep at night, or maybe they don't..." Dinah trailed off as Gabby stared at her.

"It's a cruel place, but I believe that you will be alright." Gabby said. When the seer didn't answer her, Gabby started to make her bedding and then she straightened up. "Whenever you are ready, Dinah." Gabby said. Dinah slowly got up and then joined the knight, who again held out her elbow for the seer to grab onto. They walked down the corridor slowly, neither knowing where they were going, and both knowing they were lost. Finally, Gabby caught sight of a couple of other knights from the Hawk kingdom, speaking amongst themselves about how hungry they were. Dinah and Gabby looked at each other and then followed casually behind them. "Would you be comfortable sitting next to Cachius and his sons while I go meet the royal family?" Dinah nodded and Gabby led her to a seat next to the twin boys, then when Dinah was seated, caught Thadius' eye and walked over to him. He was sitting down on the other side of Cachius, but then got up when Gabby motioned for him to." Come with me Thadius... You know how I am when it comes to meeting new people."

"That I do." Gabby looked towards the far end of the room where the royal family was. Sitting in the very middle was a man that has short brown hair and darkened eyes from where Gabby stood. On his right sat his wife, Queen Selina Wayne, whom was blonde (her hair longer than both Gabby and Dinah's), and her skin was the color of porcelain. Gabby wondered of her health at that moment, but the way she spoke to her husband suggested that she was just fine. On the king's left was a beautiful woman, her hair long in a braid, and the same color as her father's, her eyes light like her mother's. This was Princess Helena Wayne, the one many knights were here to win over. "Your Highness, this is Sir Gabriel Andrew. I'm sorry you didn't get a chance to meet him last night when I had arrived. He performs better after he'd go traveling alone, and sometimes he's a few days late in arriving. We were lucky he arrived when he did, he'd space out and forget where he was going, isn't that right, Boy?" King Bruce laughed.

"It is quite alright. If it helps him to perform better at this tournament, I suppose it wouldn't hurt us to wait another day for him. As you probably do or don't know, Sir Rhyse of the Hawk kingdom will take a few days longer as well. His son isn't feeling well, and he wants to make sure that he has fully recovered before he comes. As soon as Sir Rhyse gets here, we will have a day of rest, and then the first task will begin." Gabby nodded, then bowed.

"I kept hearing that he was delayed by weather, but that just shows that not everything you hear through gossip is true." Thadius said to the king. King Bruce looked Gabby up and down quickly.

"Of all of the men competing for my daughter's hand, I must say, I hope you win. You seem the best of the lot."

"Excuse me?" Gabby sputtered. She started to go pale. The king looked as if he was confused. Thadius cleared his throat and patted Gabby roughly on the back.

"What the boy means is that he'd be honored to have such a prized gem for his wife." He said, hitting her again in a way that painfully told her to play along. King Bruce seemed pleased to hear this. Gabby nodded to be polite and to stop Thadius' abuse. The older knight grabbed Gabby firmly by the shoulders. "If you'll excuse us, Your Highness. Gabriel here has had a long journey and his mind is hazy at this point. Let me go get him some bread and ale. He should be fine in the morning." The king nodded and lifted his glass to dismiss the two knights. Gabby was taken outside of the great hall, and Gabby, in her anger, shoved Thadius against the wall roughly, which was saying something about her strength.

"I didn't sign up to win the princess' hand, Thadius." she hissed.

"I did it for you, you stubborn ox!" Thadius hissed back.

"I don't want to win the princess." Gabby responded in a low tone.

"Settling down will be good for you. Take a wife, Gabriel, have children." the older knight insisted, easily breaking from Gabby's hold.

"Not all men want that Thad-"

"But most men who don't want it_ need _it. I can see that you need that, Gabe."

"I can't-"

"You can't back out now, that is what you can't do, Boy. How can you not want to win a prize as lovely as Princess Helena? There shouldn't be a problem here." Thadius said in a tone that clearly stated he didn't understand.

"I don't care. I know she is lovely, but I don't want to win the princess."

"I don't give a damn, Boy! You have to at least try." Gabby cursed many times and punched Thadius, knowing it wouldn't hurt him. She then went to join Dinah inside the hall as she fumed over what she must do. 'There is a problem, Thadius, you ass!' she thought, then felt guilty for cursing at him in her head and tried to take it back. 'A very big problem.'


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Sir Rhyse arrived about three days later, holding his red and purple flag of the Hawk kingdom. What Gabby knew about the knight was whatever was told through stories and gossip. Nothing more, nothing less, and for all she knows most of it could be stretched truths and almost lies that the knight didn't really care to figure out. The way the story is told, Sir Rhyse was King Albert Hawk's insignifacant son from when he'd impregnated one of his whores. The woman was financially helped out, but was other than that not aknowledged by King Albert until an illness threatened the life of his son with his wife and the Queen, Winnifred Hawk. The king summoned the boy and told him of who his father was, and lived in the castle for many months while Prince Jesse lay bedridden. Many times, the Hawk family was sure that Jesse would die, making Rhyse the only known heir to the Hawk Kingdom. Prince Jesse Hawk recovered a few seasons later and Rhyse was given one thing in return for the months he was there. Rhyse decided he wanted to be knighted, so that he was. It was told about the Pennyworth kingdom that Rhyse had a son, Alexander, whom was the result of a marriage that ended when his wife died 5 years ago from childbirth. If Rhyse were to win, Helena would be an adopted mother to this little boy.

Gabby, so far had been enjoying her stay at the castle, and from the looks of it, Dinah was as well. The knight hadn't seen the younger blonde in the daytime while she trained, and she assumed she was making friends with the women she had met the night they got there. Not long after Gabby had re-entered the great hall after Thadius told her that she was there to compete for what she knew she couldn't win, Dinah had gotten to talking to a redhaired woman and a very pregnant young woman the knight's own age. Gabby never got their names, but she was sure that by the time the tournament was over, she'd be meeting them. While Dinah was off to her own devices, Gabby was having a good time training in jousting, which was a good way to excersise Nix, take much desurved aggressions out on Thadius , and make her look good to the royal family all at the same time. When she didn't train, she tried to find the seer, only to see that she wasn't to be found. The day of Sir Rhyse's arrival was one such occasion. In the midst of her search, she'd run into Princess Helena and her guard Guy in the corridors. She'd invited the knight to go on a horseback ride. Guy had just gotten Helena onto her horse when Sir Rhyse Hawk had arrived. Immediately after, Guy had to let her back down. "I have to go greet him. Perhaps another time, Sir Gabriel?" the princess asked apologetically.

"I understand, Princess." Gabby said, bowing to her. Princess Helena took Guy's elbow, and if Gabby hadn't known that the guard was there to protect her, she would have thought that they made a wonderful pair with how well they talked and got on together. "You're not getting out of this ride, Nix. I am not about to let you get fat." Nix only stared at her as if she was insane, but made no movement or sound otherwise as Gabby continued to prepare him for the trails.

"Gabriel!" Gabby turned at the sound of her name. She saw Dinah, whom had picked up her pace and was trying to get to the knight. "I have been looking everywhere for you."

"Everywhere but here, Dinah, which is where you would have found me if you hadn't been looking everywhere first." the knight said to her.

"Haha, don't be smart." Gabby couldn't help but laugh at Dinah's sarcasm.

"What is it then, that requires you to search for me so?" Gabby asked, leaning against Nix.

"I... Well..."

"Dinah?" the knight asked, silently encouraging her to finish her sentence.

"I hope you aren't preoccupied, but I actually just wanted to speak with you, seeing as you are my travel companion for this tournament." Gabby stared at her.

"Well, I was about to go for a ride. Would you care to join me? We can talk and not be overheard." Dinah nodded, and Gabby went to prepare Dinah's horse.

Minutes later, Gabby and Dinah were riding aimlessly around the outskirts of the castle. They'd entered a man-made horse trail and let Dinah's horse and Nix walk along it. "Are you enjoying your stay at the castle, Dinah?" Gabby asked after a while when she felt the seer wasn't going to be the one to start the conversation.

"Oh yes." The younger blonde said, and Gabby could feel a little bit of excitement roll off of her as she spoke. "I did a little wandering around, and there is a large garden that Queen Selina really enjoys. I only got to see her for a minute, but she is always out there, covered in her royal robes and watching as the earth whispers to her. Sometimes it is as if she is a part of that natural surrounding." She said.

"And what of your new friends? Where have they run off to?" At the mention of Dinah's new friends, Gabby hadn't meant to sound so... jealous.

"Well, Carolyn Lance, the pregnant woman, was feeling a little bit ill, so Barbara had to go help her to bed. Remember when I told you of the dream about the large sundial and the three masked women?" Dinah suddenly asked. "Well, two others besides myself."

"Yes, I remember." Gabby said slowly as if to wonder where Dinah was going with her question.

"I think Barbara was the red haired woman that was there... only... In my dream... the red haired woman sat in a chair that had wheels on them, and she maneuvered these wheels with her hands." Dinah said, breaking off her sentence as she let her mind wander to the dream and what it actually was.

"You believe that God let's us die and then become reborn again?" Gabby asked.

"Yes, a little bit." Dinah responded, completely confused. "Though how that is relevant-"

"Maybe this is the future. You know, maybe you meet again in the future, and we all know each other. You know? Maybe everyone we know now we will meet in the future. Perhaps in that life, you ARE heroes, known by a name but never by the face... And- And maybe even you know Sir Rhyse and he helps you out."

"Yeah, and King Bruce will run around this future dressed as a deranged rodent and Queen Selina of a disfigured house beast..." Dinah said sarcastically.

"I wasn't trying to be smart that time. You told me that this dream was real to you, and I assumed that when you dream a dream that is real like that, then it is one of the future. Perhaps you were having a premonition."

"There were horseless carriages, Gabriel."

"That's right..." Gabby trailed off, wondering what horseless carriages looked like in this dream. She had forgotten that part of the seer's dream, and felt a little stupid for suggesting it.

"If this is some future, then it must be further than I would ever expect to dream." Dinah whispered. Gabby nodded, not sure what to say to that. The two women rode on, both thinking about the possibilities of Gabby's theory, Gabby thinking it made more sense than anything, and Dinah thinking it was rubbish, but saying or showing nothing in fear of offending her riding companion. "So, tell me about the tournament. Do you know what is to come and what to expect?" the seer asked when she was no longer comfortable with the silence.

"There will be three tasks to this tournament. One hunting, one sword fighting, and one jousting. King Bruce will eliminate each knight from the tournament if they are the weakest in the task. I think the main elimination task will be the sword fighting. I heard that half of the knights will be eliminated after the first task, and then there were be sword fights eliminating all the rest until there are only two. These two will joust. Best of 5, I believe. Whomever wins that joust will be awarded the prize money of 500 gold coins or the princess' hand if they talked with King Bruce ahead of time about it." Gabby rattled off, feeling herself become less and less sure of her abilities. She'd seen over the last few days the strength and agility in these men who were larger than herself, and even if she'd wanted to win the princess, she felt she had no chance against them.

"Sounds exciting. I will be cheering for you in the arena." Dinah said with great sincerity, and Gabby smiled warmly, glad that someone was on her side. "Sir Gabriel? What is on your mind?" Dinah asked suddenly.

"I feel insecurities rise within me now, Dinah." Gabby said, surprised that she was able to speak out about how she felt to the seer, when she was so used to holding everything within her mind and her heart. She silently wondered why she didn't seem intimidated by the younger blonde anymore, but she pushed it all aside.

"Do explain... please."

"You know that I was only in this tournament for fun. For a sport. Thadius changed all that. Now I am competing for the princess' hand. You and I both know that can't happen, but if I purposely fail the first task, I know I will be failing Thadius." the blonde knight admitted. "I am just afraid."

"I understand. You are unsure when to purposely fail that would bring you the most glory, right?"

"I don't want Thadius to look at me with that look of failure and almost regret. I don't want him to regret taking me in because I am not the greatest knight."

"Listen to yourself. You were knighted only 5 nights ago, Gabby. How can he expect that from you when it has taken years before Thadius became the man he is?" The knight knew the younger blonde was right. She nodded and she felt a little bit better, but that didn't resolve her problem. 'I reckon that is for me to decide alone.' There was a loud silence between them. Gabby noticed as they went along that Dinah pet her horse now and then, whispering to it in encouragement.

"How come you have yet to name your horse?" Gabby asked, more out of curiosity than as a way to break yet another silence. Naming a horse was usually the first thing a woman did upon receiving one as a gift, and the fact that hers remained unnamed seemed a little odd to the knight.

"It was a gift from King Alfred. During the season of giving, he'd wanted to take me riding and teach me to ride a horse, so he gave me her, only this is the 4th time since I had gotten her that I had actually ridden."

"That doesn't tell me why she's gone unnamed for this long." Gabby said. Dinah shrugged.

"I can't think of a good one for her."

"I see." Gabby responded slowly, making the girl look at her.

"Do you have any suggestions, Gabriel? Perhaps you can come up with another unique name like Nix for my horse."

"Perhaps, but I'd rather you came up with it on your own. She is, after all, in your possession. You should name her, otherwise she will go on feeling as if you do not love her."

"I s'pose you're right. I bet if you loved men, Kafka would be the perfect husband for you." Dinah said, grinning at the disgust on Gabby's face.

"That has got to be the weirdest thing you've ever said." Dinah laughed, and after a few seconds, Gabby joined in the laughter, both of them sounding like they were back into their childhood mischief's and troublemaking. They joked on in such manner, and all tension that ever was between the pair melted as they bonded. As the sun started to set, Gabby and Dinah headed back to the Wayne castle, and were inside the stables by the time it had become fully dark. As Gabby hopped down to help Dinah from her horse, Kafka returned Nix to his stall and started to take off his saddle.

"Carrah." the boy suddenly said after petting Dinah's horse.

"Excuse me?" Dinah asked when the stable boy turned her way.

"Your horse. She wishes to be called Carrah." Dinah looked at him with an odd expression on her face, partially of curiosity and mostly of confusion.

"He can talk to the horses, so to speak." Gabby grinned at her pun, but no one else got the joke, so she said nothing further for a minute. "Hello Carrah." the young knight said, petting the horse. "You know, the other knights, Thadius and them think I am mad because I talk to Nix all the time." Gabby said conversationally. "One time I was drunken and I was talkin' to him. Thadius found me and started to make funna me for it. I'll never live it down according to Cashius." Dinah smiled, trying to hide her laughter. Gabby grinned, glad to have gotten a smile from her riding companion. Over her shoulder, she saw a large man approach them.

"Sir Gabriel?"

"Aye?"

"Hi, I am Sir Rhyse of the Hawk kingdom. I have heard a lot about you from the gossip around the castle and thought I would come and say 'Hello' and good luck on the tournament." Dinah turned around and both blondes looked the man. Sir Rhyse was a large man, easily 6 feet tall. He had long black hair that went to his broad shoulders. At the moment it was put into a tie. His skin was darker than any man Gabby's ever seen, almost the color of his brown eyes.

"Hello. Nice to meet you at last. I am Sir Gabriel Andrew, and this is Dinah Redmond." Rhyse took Dinah's hand and placed a small kiss upon the top.

"A pleasure to meet the two of you. Princess Helena told me about you while you were out riding."

"I hope these things she told you were good things." Gabby said, not sure why the princess would say anything good or mean about her since they hadn't really gotten a chance to know each other.

"Don't worry about mean spirited words, lad. I heard nothing but good things about you from her. She seems to like you, which is a rarity. I know I'll have my work cut out for me." There was something in the man's voice that seemed a little odd, but Gabby pushed it aside, telling herself that it was just her competitive nature boiling within her.

"I have heard many things about you as well. I'm sure this will turn out to be at least an interesting tournament, in which I wish you good luck." Gabby said. They nodded to each other in their goodbye, and Sir Rhyse was off again, back into the castle.

"Something's not right about him." Dinah muttered, turning around to face Gabby for the first time since Sir Rhyse's arrival.

"Something bad?"

"I don't know. Something feels not right about him. He likes to cheat. I wouldn't make a bet with him ever." Dinah said. Gabby nodded. "Just watch out for him, okay? He frankly scares me."

"I will. Come on, I believe it is about time to eat." Gabby said, rubbing her stomach to show she was starving.

"I could use a little food." Dinah admitted, and Gabby escorted her to the great hall.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

The morning birds had yet to call for the sunrise two mornings later, yet Gabby was awake, slowly getting dressed so she wouldn't make any noise that would wake the seer, whom lay peacefully all evening for the first night since they had shared nights in the same presence. The knight's movements around the room weren't helping her any, yet still she tried to move around as quietly as she could, hoping to make an almost silent exit. In the end, Gabby had awaken the girl. "I'm sorry, Dinah." Gabby said, crossing the room quickly and gently running her fingers through the seer's hair. It was a quick movement, one of comfort and friendship, and it made the seer softly smile.

"No worries, Gabriel." she said, slowly sitting up, revealing her nightdress. Gabby quickly turned around.

"I-I'll see you in the dining hall for breakfast." Gabby stuttered, moving to the door.

"Wait!" Gabby was almost at the door, her hand reaching out to it when she stopped at Dinah's request. "Are you going to be alright? You are quite jumpy this morning."

"It is nerves, Dinah. I just need some time to walk around and stretch my legs. Er- Maybe I'll feel better afterwards." Gabby said, turning towards the seer.

"I know talking is different from training, but maybe telling me your problem will help a little bit."

"I will keep that in mind." Gabby said. Then she turned and left the room. As she walked down the barely lit corridors and out of the castle, Gabby wondered how this day was going to go. That morning King Bruce was going to announce that the first task will begin that day, but when, she wasn't sure. The young knight found a nice place to sit and she watched as the castle woke up with the sun.

_The marketplace of the Pennyworth kingdom was never known as a place to be crowded, yet it was that day, for it was a day for games. Gabby watched in awe as the knights played in these competitions, winning prize after prize. A Mr. Cashius had just won a new horse, and a Mr. Thadius Manx had won 25 gold coins in a paired sword fighting match. Alone they were good, but united, the two knights were unbeatable. Gabby wondered if that was how Johnny Boy and she would have been like as a team. It seemed just as the two had always imagined as children. The girl watched as the two men celebrated their win, Gabby figuring that Thadius Manx was more like her, and that Cashius was like Johnny Boy. Then, Thadius Manx walked her way, grunted his apologies as he bumped roughly past her, then continued to his horse. "Excuse me?!" Gabby called, but the knight didn't hear her. She ran after him, calling him. Finally, he turned around. He was then where he'd left his horse._

_"Aye?" he asked suspiciously._

_"I-I was wondering if... if you needed a squire, sir." Gabby said in a lower voice. She tried not to blush at her nervous stutter._

_"No, I don't need a squire, lad. Go on home."_

_"I can't do that." Gabby said slowly, looking anywhere but the knight. 'This is useless.' She thought. 'I'm only wasting his time... but I can't just quit. I can't go back now.' "Please, if you give me a chance... less than that, I can prove that I will be a hard worker and I will train hard and all that." Gabby said. Thadius looked over at her, then pet his horse absently as he thought it over._

_"I'm sorry son." The girl sighed, feeling her heart start to ache, then she nodded._

_"Thank you for your time, kind sir." She turned to leave._

_"WAIT! Rule number one to being a knight: We don't quit. You won't get a chance. You get less than that. Mess up but once, I will reconsider this, you hear me boy? Come on, I'm going to get you a decent hair cut. Whomever cut your hair should be hug." Gabby blushed, but nodded anyway, her head buzzing. "Give me a few minutes, as I must ask Cashius if I can borrow his horse he just won." Gabby nodded and watched as the two knights started talking, Cashius looking over at her every few seconds, then bursting out into a howl of laughter as he was told that his best friend was taking in a new squire. "How can I say no to someone who reminds me so much of Alexis?" Thadius defended himself. "If you met a boy that looked like your twins, I bet you wouldn't think twice before letting him in."_

_"He's a bit soft lookin'."_

_"Yeah, I know, but I can tell he's got a good heart. I know he will work hard." Thadius said._

_"Yeah, you can borrow my horse. I know I will see it tomorrow. Good luck with the boy." The burliest of the two men looked behind him and watched Gabby as she pet his horse and spoke to it._

_"Something tells me I won't need it." Thadius said with unexpected confidence._

Gabby entered the great hall and saw that it was filled with voices and laughter as it became obvious that most all the men had slept well the night before. Instantly, Gabby spotted Dinah, but she was with her friends, so she squeezed in between Charles and Brian, and then reached for an apple and a few berries. She slowly ate while she listened to the men wonder what they'd have to go hunt today. The young knight didn't care really, as long as Thadius was there with her, but knowing Thadius, he'd leave her saying that she had to do this on her own, and Gabby would know that he was right. "Well, I hope it isn't something too big. Gabe here won't be able to hold anything bigger than a calf with those grapes under the skin he calls muscles." Charles joked.

"Well at least I can catch something bigger than a calf, so maybe we should be a team, I do the hunting and you can carry it back to the castle for me." Gabby said, not even looking up from her apple.

"Oooh." Thadius said from his place at the far end of the table, "Play with fire, be sure to get burned." Gabby grinned at her mentor and then laughed with the other men, listening to their bets on the first task and just having a good time. It helped ease her jitters as she ate. King Bruce, who was on the other side of the room, stood up and demanded silence. The room quieted immediately.

"ATTENTION!" He called. "Are all of the competitors in the room?" he asked, looking around the room. All of the knights, including Gabby looked around the room as well before joining in the chorus of 'Aye'. "Good. As you know, the tournament begins today at midday. The first task requires great archery skills. Get your bows and horses ready, men. It's time to hunt." A murmur spread throughout the hall.

"This should be easy. Archery is my best skill." boasted a man from a the Kingdom of Bludhaven. Gabby remembered meeting him her second day there, but it was hazy within her mind then. It seemed grey... Grayson. His name was Dick Grayson. Gabby liked Dick when she met the man. He was there only to heighten his status, and Gabby was sure that even if he didn't win this tournament he'd quickly rise in status in another tournament. Gabby rose with the rest of the knights from her kingdom, grabbed an apple and walked over to where Dinah was sitting with her new friends, Carolyn and Barbara.

"Dinah, I will be in the stables with Nix, so if you need me for anything, don't be afraid to look for me there."

"I won't be." she said. She stood up and gave her a small hug and said, "Good luck. I wanted to say that now in case I didn't get a chance to before the first task." She said. The younger knight stole a quick glance at the redhead, Barbara, whom had an eyebrow raised in interest.

"Thank you." Gabby said before she left the great hall and went to the stables. Many other men were getting their horses ready for the hunt as well. She walked to Nix. "Hey boy. I know you hate this, but we are going for a hunt today." Nix snorted. "Don't give me that. You knew that one of the tasks was going to involve a hunt." Gabby said defensively. Nix snorted again. "Oh shush and eat your apple." Gabby ordered, holding the apple on her flattened palm for the horse to grab. "I promise you that it won't be so bad." She watched him devour the apple and smiled as she went to her wagon and started to unload her things.

Fanfair was heard as the knights lined up in front of the king, who sat with his wife and daughter. Gabby looked down at the ground, staring at Nix's hooves. She noticed that Kafka had replaced his horse shoes with ones that seemed to fit him better. 'Maybe that is why he hates hunting and standing for so long on those roads. His shoes were a little too small.' Gabby thought. "Men, the first task for this tournament shouldn't be too difficult. You all will be taken to a large closed off area where you will capture the creatures within. Rabbits. Today you will be catching rabbits. They are all brown with the exception of 5. Catch one of those 5 rabbits, it will count as 5 rabbits caught. You have until the sun sets. I wish you all good luck." King Bruce paused. "Sixteen of you, those with the least amount caught, will be eliminated in this round." Gabby looked around and saw a joker and a harlequin performing for a few of the children who were there, and would probably entertain the adults later on as well.

After King Bruce dismissed the knights, the men and Gabby were lead to an area that must have been a couple of hundred acres in perimeter. There was a lot of tall grass in this area, and Gabby knew it was going to be quite difficult to see them, let alone catch them. The king's assistant, something Ketterly, looked at all of the knights in what had to be nothing more or less than disgust. "I will be back when the sun begins to set. You have until then." Then he was gone. All of the men scattered to begin the hunt. Gabby was left with Nix, walking around slowly. She had her bow in one hand and Nix's reigns in the other, and she looked at the large empty sack connected to the side of her beloved horse's saddle.

"Okay, I can do this." Gabby said to herself as she walked around a little more, not sure where she wanted to begin the hunt. "I guess here is the best place for it." the young knight muttered. She let go of Nix's reigns and slowly took an arrow from the holder on her back. She had her arrow poised and ready as she walked slowly and quietly as to not spook her prey. Suddenly, she saw it. A small brown streak ran past her. As it slowed, Gabby eyed it carefully as she took careful aim. Smaller prey usually meant faster prey, which made this hunt more exciting for the other knights. The arrow missed as it started to run again, but Gabby grabbed another arrow and aimed once more. Then she let the arrow go. It was a hit. Unfortunately for the knight, the rabbit was still alive with the arrow sticking out of it's left side. As Gabby approached it, she saw the small creature struggle for breath before it lost it's struggle, and all life left the small body. Gabby hated hunting, but it was a skill required for her knighthood, and it was a skill Thadius had insisted on teaching her first before he taught her about mannerisms, the jousting or the sword fighting. Gabby sighed as she took the arrow from the fallen body, put the body into the sack, and continued to hunt.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Hours later, Gabby had repeated the process at least a couple dozen times, having lost count after her 6th or 7th guilt trip. It had been many moments since she'd caught a rabbit at all, and she was certain that there were none left to catch when she caught sight of a white one. This surprised the knight, since she was sure that all of the white rabbits had been caught by then. She was by then weary, and so tired of killing. 'Perhaps I can find a way to present it to the royal family without killing it. Perhaps I can present it as a gift to Princess Helena.' she thought. She put her bow down and took off her overshirt. She had had another thinner shirt underneath it, and she was glad that no one was around as she crouched, holding her shirt in both hands so that it would cover the rabbit and make it blind momentarily. "What are you doing Gabriel?" came a voice a few moments later.

"Silence Rhyse. I'm trying to catch this one. I want this one alive so I can give it to the princess as a gift, and right now you're spooking it!" Gabby hissed. Rhyse looked at Gabby with an odd look, silently wondering if this knight was mad to be running around in his underclothing while trying to catch a white rabbit by hand.

"Wel, I wish you luck, man. I caught one o' them me-self, and they are damned hard to catch with a bow, lemme tell ya'."

"Thanks Rhyse." Gabby said, feeling her humiliation grow as she felt in the back of her mind that she won't ever catch this one, but would be seen running around in her under clothes and be laughed at. As the larger knight retreated, Gabby looked back at the white rabbit, which had amazingly not moved an inch since she had last seen it. All concentration was on the rabbit, a pure white coated body with demon eyes. She inched closer and closer to the rabbit. Suddenly, she reached out, but came up empty handed. The blonde knight cursed. "He was right, damn that man." she growled. She looked up to see that the sun was almost set. She had a little time, but not very much. "Come on..." She stayed extra quiet as she crept closer to the rabbit. They were only inches apart once more, then Gabby sat and she waited. The rabbit, up until then, was watching her closely. Then a moment came when the rabbit had turned it's back on her (trusting that the figure next to it was harmless), and Gabby sprang out and grabbed it. The small creature gave up quite a fight, almost forcing the blonde knight to drop it on a couple of different occasions. After many minutes of struggle, the rabbit stilled, and Gabby hoped she didn't kill it with her bare hands. She slowly opened the shirt, afraid of what she'd see, but the rabbit's eyes were open and it was just trying to catch it's breath. It was still alive, and that made Gabby both relieved and happy as she stared into it's blood colored eyes with her own blue ones. "Shh..." She whispered to it. She found that the rabbit was calmer in her arms when portions of the shirt loosely covered it's eyes and it didn't see anything. She carefully unwrapped the cloth and looked briefly between the legs to determine the sex of the rabbit to find that it was male. She rewrapped him and felt the struggle once more.

Just when the rabbit had calmed down in her arms, a horn was to be heard, and Gabby shifted the small body so that it was held in only one arm as she also held Nix's reigns. She hurried to the entrance of this field and she saw Thadius instantly, feeling better now that the hunt was over and she can rest. Thadius put a large hand on her shoulder and Gabby smiled. "You do alright, Gabriel?" he asked, seeing her exhaustion.

"I can only hope so." The Ketterly man did a head count, then he lead the way back to the jousting field. Thadius and Gabby walked slowly, bringing up the rear of the line as they listened to the men ahead of them brag about how many they'd caught or how difficult some of their catches were, yet they were still successful. Gabby held back her laughter.

"I caught me a good 23, I did." she faintly heard one of Cashius' twin sons say to the other. (Not seeing the scarred hand, she wasn't able to tell which one spoke.)

"Oh yeah? I almost caught me a white one. Buggers are small, but fast."

"I caught 5 within an hour." The first twin continue to brag some more, competing with his twin, who didn't seem to do as well.

"Ah, you are both armatures. Us older knights have you all beat. I caught 32 rabbits without the help of a white one, and Thadius caught more than 35." Gabby looked at her mentor with awe.

"That true?" she asked, almost breathlessly.

"Thirty-six." Thadius said, shrugging it off, but Gabby knew he was boasting inside. "What about you, Gabe?" he asked, turning her way.

"I d-didn't count." Gabby said in a stammer as she tried to keep the rabbit still in her arms. It's slight squirming was what had caused the small break in her speech.

"You didn't count? Why not?" he asked, looking at her incredulously

"I don't know. I didn't want to concentrate on how many I got until the very end." Gabby lied. She listened in to more people talking of their hunt.

"I caught a white rabbit not long after this task started." This caught Gabby's attention briefly. 'I have one, Rhyse has one, he has one, and one of the twins has one... That means one wasn't caught. Or perhaps one has been caught, but someone isn't bragging about it... just as I am not.'

"What about you, Rhyse? You look like you found buried treasure." said a knight from the Wayne kingdom that had befriended the darker knight the evening before over ale.

"Perhaps I did, or perhaps I am just in a good mood."

"On another day I would believe that, but I am not stupid."

"I know a couple of maidens who say otherwise." Rhyse said in a teasing manner.

"Aw, come on. That was low. Real low, Rhyse..." A few men laughed around him, and he joined in, feeling good natured. 'I hope I have caught enough to advance me to the next task.' Gabby thought when they entered the jousting field where a bard was telling tales of the war that had just past. When King Bruce saw the knights, however, he cut the bard off and stood as the storyteller sulked as he walked away. He motioned for everyone to step forward as a group of men took the sacks off of the knights' horses and lowered them to the ground. Gabby searched the crowd for Dinah and their eyes met. It seemed that she was saying that things were alright, and Gabby felt better instantly. 'It is amazing how just knowing you have friends helps make life so much easier,' the blonde knight thought.

"Your Highness, I was wondering if I could do one last thing before you go on with the counting." Sir Rhyse spoke up. He was loud, clear, and confident in his speech, and Gabby couldn't help but be a little bit envious of this trait. King Bruce looked curious, so he waved for him to continue and do what he wanted to do. Rhyse, Gabby realized, wasn't wearing his over shirt either, only on him it didn't seem as awkward. He loved his body and didn't mind showing his arms, filled with muscles. Gabby had some muscle, enough to hold her own in a fight and to wrestle Thadius with, but it wasn't much to brag about in the long run. Sir Rhyse walked slowly, deliberately towards Helena after taking out a bundle from his sack and handed her what was in his arms. Gabby realized that it was a white rabbit, very much alive. She watched as Rhyse took the rabbit by the scruff of it's neck and handed it to Helena. The blonde knight sighed in defeat, wondering what she was going to do with t he rabbit in her own arms now. She didn't want the princess to think that she was copying the older knight's idea. It was apparent that Helena liked the gift, and that brought a large smile to both her and Sir Rhyse's face.

"Alright then, Rhyse, we will start with you first. Bring forth his sack." King Bruce commanded. Gabby stood in silence, close to Nix, and felt him nuzzle her shoulder. She fought the urge to turn and just ignore everything but the horse at that moment. She didn't want to seem disrespectful to either the royal family or their tournament, so she stayed at attention, watching as they counted his many dead rabbits. "Twenty-nine brown rabbits and 2 white rabbits. Good job, Rhyse. You have caught 39 rabbits." Gabby almost fell to her knees with how weak they felt from fear. 'There is no way anyone can beat that.' she thought. She watched as the other knights had their rabbits counted. Some doing very well, like Thadius, Cashious, and Sir Dick Grayson, but others doing very poorly like a couple of knights from an unknown kingdom (she knew the kingdom in which they all came from, but she just didn't know which one the knights belonged to) whom had gotten below twenty. Finally, they got to her, and she held in a breath. "Why do you not have your over shirt on, Gabriel?" King Bruce asked, frowning in his confusion. She exhaled quickly to answer the king, though for almost half of a minute, she didn't know what to say.

"I am sorry for my indecency, I had started to sweat uncontrollably, a-and I needed to take it off until it got cooler out." Gabby said. She felt Thadius' stares because she knew that the older knight saw through her fib, but he just couldn't figure out why she was lying.

"Well, let's see how many you've got then." He counted out how many she'd gotten. From the looks of it, she'd need to have a minimum of 25 rabbits to advance to the next task. "... twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-five, twenty-six rabbits. No white rabbit. Well done." King Bruce said. He straightened up and called off the names of the men who were eliminated from the first task. Gabby felt sorry for Brian, whom had less than Gabby, and he was eliminated. He grinned at his brother though, anyway, making fun of him silently. Gabby was sure it was an inside joke between the two, and she smiled as she wondered briefly what it could have been. She felt the rabbit she'd caught wiggle a little bit. Gabby wasn't sure, but she thought that the rabbit had fallen asleep before, but he had started to get a little restless.

"It will be over soon, Little One." Gabby whispered, more for herself than for the small creature.

"I think my chef will have an easy time deciding what to feed the castle tomorrow. It appears that rabbit stew is on the menu." A lot of the men laughed at the king's joke, though Gabby felt the bile in her stomach as she thought of the creature in her arms getting slaughtered, and she felt even worse for the blood she still felt on her hands. "You men need to rest. Tomorrow, the second task begins." It was then that he had dismissed them to go get rest and food. Gabby walked with Nix towards the stables as the other knights had their squires take their horses and followed Gabby, while the knights themselves went to do Lord knows what. Kafka had his work cut out for him. Gabby felt bad for him, even though she had a feeling he loved his work.

"If you have a cage I can put a rabbit in, I will be glad to help you out." Gabby said.

"I think I can find you one." Kafka said, turning to look at the blonde knight.

"Here in the stables?" she wondered. Kafka shook his head.

"No, I don't think, but I can find you one." Kafka started to look in a small shed that had the brushes and buckets and other supplies to take care of horses. He picked up a small barred cage that was just big enough for the rabbit. "Will this do? I just found it there, but later I will find a larger one for one. This one will get quite cramped."

"Yes. Thank you." Kafka nodded. Gabby kept her end of her bargain and helped Kafka take care of the horses, starting with Nix, of course, but then she took care of 4 others before she felt completely tired out.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Kafka asked after he whispered into one of the horses' ears to get her to stop shifting about so much.

"About what?" Gabby asked, pretending to be dimwitted.

"The white rabbit. I thought you didn't catch one." She looked accusingly at Nix, who stared at her and didn't seem to care about the evil look he was receiving from the knight.

"I didn't." Gabby said with a sigh as she washed down a pure white horse. "Well, according to them, I didn't." she muttered.

"So what happened? Why didn't you just say you had one as well, but decided to keep it for your very own?"

"Because I-" She stopped talking when she saw Sir Rhyse approach them.

"Hey Gabriel. I didn't see you in the great hall so I thought I'd come here and say that was a nice idea you had. The princess loved it." He grinned in a menacing manner, then he walked off laughing.

"Snake." Kafka said. "That was your idea, wasn't it? And he stole it from you... I knew he was a bully, but this is just mean." Kafka said.

"Who's a snake?" Both of them looked up at Dinah, whom was just coming into the stables. "I was looking for you at dinner. Why didn't you come inside and eat?" she asked the knight, who was surprised that she had waited to dine with her.

"I should have gone in and gotten something for Nix and Little One." Gabby said in a murmur.

"I have some carrots for the rabbit if you like." Kafka looked over at the cage where the creature sat. "The chef always sends a few my way fresh from the gardens and the market before he goes to the kitchens. I can save a few here, and if you choose to keep the rabbit in your quarters, I can save a couple for Nix and the rabbit." Kafka offered.

"Thank you. I would appreciate that."

"Now, why do you have a rabbit, and what was all that with Rhyse?" Dinah asked. Gabby took a hold of Dinah's hand, then nodded. Dinah frowned, then when she got the silent message to read her thoughts she closed her eyes and saw everything that Gabby did that day. "That was mean." was all she said as she distractedly let go of the knight's hand. Gabby shrugged and then stood up, grabbing the cage.

"I need sleep. I shall fall over if I do not get some soon. Will you be okay on your own, or do you need me to escort you anywhere?" She asked the seer.

"I will be fine. Have a good sleep." Gabby nodded and walked away from the stables and numbly through the corridors where she saw Helena walking with Rhyse, laughing and smiling as she held onto her own rabbit's cage, naturally larger than the borrowed one. It was a good thing that Gabby was too tired to eat, because after that display, she was sure she'd lost her appetite. She threw her over shirt (which she never put back on) over the cage, and the rabbit was hidden once again.

When she reached their quarters, Gabby put the cage on the floor then opened it, feeling bad for trapping him in there. "Tomorrow I will let you free, but tonight I am just too tired, you hear me? You're just going to have to stay with us for the night." The small creature's nose twitched, and Gabby gently picked him up and set him on the bed. "Oh, it won't be that bad!" The nose continued to twitch. "Yeah, I s'pose you're right about that, but I haven't the patience to argue with you on it." she said. Gabby yawned to prove her point, then she lay on the bed watching the rabbit.

Gabby woke up a couple of hours later to movement in the room. "I must have fallen asleep." she muttered. She saw that Dinah was also there moving about. "Dinah?" she asked uncertainly. What was she doing? The knight watched her for a second, then repeated the seer's name.

"Oh!" She seemed really startled. "I was hoping I hadn't awakened you. Um- Do you think there are anymore linens around?"

"I am not sure. What's going on?"

"There's no time to explain."

"You can use mine if need be. I'm sorry I fell asleep-"

"It's fine. I won't be using the bed tonight, anyway. If you must, you can continue to use it tonight and get some sleep for tomorrow's sword fights." Dinah interrupted her. Gabby stood up and stretched slowly, even more curious than before.

"Dinah?" She grabbed her arm to still the hurried movements around the room. "Tell me what is the hurry and rush."

My friend Carolyn has gone into labor. She's about to have the baby."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

"What?!" Gabby asked, shocked as Dinah started to leave the room. When she had last seen Carolyn, she looked fine, and definitely not like someone who was about to go into labor. Gabby walked after her out of their quarters and into the corridors. "A baby? Now?" She hurried after the seer as her pace quickened and seemed to get more urgent. They passed many other knights as they headed off to bed, which made Gabby wonder what time it was. It was probably twilight by now, or even early in the morning a couple of hours before dawn. Just when Gabby thought she would fall over from the exhaustion of following the frantic girl across the castle, Dinah walked into a room in a darker and colder part of the castle. There were no candles or torches lit, and Gabby had an eerie feeling that all heat was sucked from the corridor into the room that Dinah had just entered.

"Barbara! I've brought some more linens, but not many-"

"It's enough for now. Why is he here?" a rough but feminine voice asked, making the seer turn to look at Gabby. It was as if the younger girl had forgotten she was there.

"Gabriel, please wait out in the corridor. I will be with you in a minute." Gabby tried to look into the room to see if Carolyn was alright. Gabby had never been present during a birth, and it alarmed her just how warm the room was. The knight couldn't see much over Dinah's shoulder.

"Is she alright? Dinah, please tell me-"

"Wait here. I promise I'll tell you everything I can later." she insisted. Gabby nodded as the door closed slowly in her face. She turned around and stood in front of the door, guarding the women as much as she could. The minutes ticked by and Gabby started to shift from one foot to the other, and she jumped when she heard a wail from within.

"Oh God, please let her be alright." Gabby prayed. Not long after the wails died down, the door opened, and Dinah came out, looking exhausted and saddened. Her face was wet with perspiration, and her hair was down and a little bit messy. If Dinah looked that way after only being in there for a few moments, Gabby's prayers for the pregnant woman grew in magnitude, for surely she must be in a worse state.

"Come. We'll talk." Dinah said. Gabby only nodded and walked slowly with the seer, letting her lean on her as they strolled through the corridors.

"Is... Is she going to be okay? I know that childbirth is very painful, but I heard her. She sounded so much worse than that." Gabby said, looking at the girl, who looked as if she fought to keep her eyes open. The seer remained silent for a while, lost in thought, and Gabby was afraid to repeat herself. Gabby and Dinah walked outside and sat in the seats in the jousting field. They stared at the stars, now brighter because their light wasn't overshadowed by the moonlight.

"Carolyn isn't doing very well." Dinah whispered. "The baby, the labor, the birth... It all wasn't due for another full moon at least. I fear for them. Those born before their time rarely survive." Dinah shook her head solemnly. "I fear even more if the baby does survive." she continued, leaning her head on Gabby's shoulder. The knight wrapped her arm around her waist and let Dinah talk. "There are people out there, Gabby. People like me. They are special, given powers by God only to be shunned for having them. Carolyn has a power... one of fire. I am not sure about the baby's father. He was home for a little while when the baby was conceived... and not long after the father was killed in the war, the baby started to hurt her. Carolyn kept going to Barbara claiming of pains within, but Barbara couldn't help her for long."

"Why would Barbara help her?" Gabby asked.

"She's a healer. Her gift from God. And Kafka, the ability to communicate with horses..." Dinah explained.

"She'd gotten worse over the time the baby grew inside her, didn't she Dinah?" Gabby asked. Dinah's eyebrows turned to a frown, then she opened her eyes.

"She claims the baby is burning her as if it's flesh itself was rising in temperature. Tonight... It got really bad. She is in constant discomfort because of this." Dinah said. "Carolyn feels that she is dying, and that the closer she gets to giving birth, the sooner her death." Dinah's voice became fainter with her exhaustion.

"And... what do you think?"

"I don't know what I think." Gabby knew she was lying, but Dinah obviously didn't want to talk about it, for whatever she'd seen for the baby and the mother, it must be to horrible to talk about. "Hey, you think you will be ready for the swordfights today?" Gabby sighed, glad that the subject was changed to better things.

"That wasn't a very subtle subject change, but I will play along because the subject is started to make me sad." Dinah smiled, looking up at Gabby for a minute and blue eyes connected with blue.

"Can't slip anything past you, Gabriel. After the things you have been through for the last 8 or so years, you must be the master of secrecy." she said.

"Yes, I AM ready for the swordfights." Gabby said, chuckling, getting her topic away from her secrets. "I hope that the men out there are only as strong as they look. With the exception of Rhyse, I reckon Thadius will be the hardest one to beat in this task, since even now I struggle to win swordfights between him and myself."

"I believe in you."

"Thank you." It was apparent that the seer was tired, so Gabby sat there with Dinah in silence as she watched the sky and the stars. Sooner than she thought, she saw the sky go from darkness to light, with dark clouds and a promise of rain within them.... It was beautiful to witness none the less. It didn't last very long, for wind had started to pick up, and Gabby wondered how long it would be before the rain started again. She could smell it in the air. When the winds blew hard enough to make the sleeping girl beside her shiver, Gabby stood up and gently picked her up, careful as to not disturb her slumber. She walked Dinah through the corridors and finally got her to their quarters.

After tucking the younger blonde in, the knight watched the girl in awe, unsure of what she was feeling at this moment. It was as if her insides had awakened with this new day, and Gabby felt scared. "How can you ever not notice the beauty you've grown into?" Gabby whispered. "You will make a young man very happy, Dinah, gifts and all." She added before picking up Diable' Blanc (her name for the rabbit, which is French for 'white devil' ), and walking out to the stables. Kafka was just getting there when Gabby had arrived. His hair was ruffled, and she watched as he groggily moved about the stables, caring for the horses.

"Couldn't sleep, Sir Gabriel?" he asked, taking the cage from her and handing her a carrot to feed to Nix.

"Had some sleep, but I was awakened by an emergency, and I had to see what was going on." Gabby said slowly. Kafka nodded, then fed the rabbit cut up pieces of the carrot while Gabby held out the one in her hand to Nix. As she watched her large friend devour the carrot, she heard the boy yawn. She turned to look at Kafka and watched him for a moment. He was a tall lanky boy with light brown hair and green eyes. He wore regular brown trousers and a white shirt which looked to be his only outfit. Gabby knew that on the outside no one would ever know the special qualities this boy had within him. Why would they, he's just a stable boy? But Gabby knew. No one would see that his heart shone more than that of any knight she'd ever met.

"I couldn't either." Kafka said, snapping Gabby out of the short inspection of him. "Sir Rhyse and a few of his men were singing sea shantees as they drank last night. I wonder why they chose to sing sea shantees when I know most of them have never even seen the ocean. They were talking rather loud by my room, though." The boy rolled his eyes and then looked over to Gabby. "Why weren't you at the celebrations? There was plenty of bards and acrobats and dancers... And there was a man there that ate his sword... He didn't look hurt, but that is like committing suicide each time he dares to do this trick. You should have seen it, though." Kafka seemed to be talking more to himself after a while, and Gabby listened as she pet Nix. "... The stories were all the same. You know, about the war and all that in which everyone's heard by now, but there was one about this ancient princess who could see the future and told stories to the children about what she saw... Flying contraptions that carried people across the seas and such, and that was my favorite."

"That sounds a little far fetched. Flying contraptions... So silly." Gabby said absently, thinking over Dinah's dream for a second and wondering if there ever would be such inventions.

"Aw, it was just a tale, but it was very entertaining. Everyone watched the bard with great interest." The knight nodded. Kafka looked at the castle and saw that people were waking up. "It is time to eat, Sir Gabriel. You might want to go into the great hall before they believe that one of their top knights got lost or something equally horrible happened." Gabby nodded and patted Nix one last time before she walked slowly inside. 'If anything, I could get a little bit to eat to keep up my strength...' the knight thought as she made her way to joined the other knights.

_"Gabriel, are you alright?" Irene asked as she watched the boy in front of her. She had just found blood on some of his linens and felt a slight panic. 'I told that man to take it easy on his frail form. He isn't tough enough for all that rough housing.' the woman thought, glaring at Thadius, who was still sleeping. Gabriel Andrew, the newest addition to the Manx house hold, looked down at her sweetened morning bread, blushing lightly._

_"Yes. I-I am fine." The squire seemed into her thoughts as she spoke profanities to herself. 'How could I be so stupid and forget about my monthly bleeding?!' she scolded herself._

_"The e was blood on your linens, Gabriel. If you were wounded yesterday, you should have come to see me." She said firmly, but not in a scolding manner, just in a way to let the squire know that there needn't be any awkwardness when coming to talk to her. "I don't care about your pride, Gabe. If you are hurt, I will care for you."_

_"Thank you. I-I guess I thought it wasn't as bad yesterday, and it must have... re.... opened... and bled." Gabby trailed off, knowing she sounded like a fool, but she looked up to see that Irene was watching her with a face filled with concern._

_"I will give Thadius a talking to about that rough housing. I will tell him to slow it down."_

_"NO!" Irene stared at her, shocked at Gabby's almost desperate tone. "I-I mean... Telling him... That will just... He..."_

_"Gabriel?"_

_"He gave me one shot at this, and if he thinks he's too rough with me right now as it is... Irene, I have seen him fight those other knights... Even a squire half my age should be able to fight him at the strength of his rough housing. If he thinks I am weak then he will have no use for me as a squire. I just need to toughen up, is all, honest." Gabby felt stupid. She really did, but Irene saw the determination in the squire's eyes as well as something that resembled fear, so she nodded her head in understanding._

_"Just... be careful, okay?" Gabby nodded. "Okay, eat up, or you will never have the strength to beat Thadius in a swordfight." She teased, pushing the bread closer to the squire. Gabby smiled, then did as she was told._

Gabby and 15 other men stood in front of the king in a line in the jousting field. They were all wearing a shirt made of chainmail to cover their chests, but there was a painted circle on the chests over the heart. When Gabby was given her chainmail shirt, she was confused by this marking as was everyone else. Things were definitely going to be a little bit different from the other swordfights she'd witnessed. Like all of the men, Gabby was holding onto her sword as a lifeline, and she knew that her knuckles had gone white around it. The blonde knight looked down the row and made eye contact with Sir Rhyse briefly before turning away in disgust. She then looked in the crowd to find that Dinah wasn't there, which had disappointed her somewhat. She knew and understood her reasoning of course, but it would have made this task easier just knowing the seer was there. She hoped in her mind and heart that things were going well for the girl. As she thought of the girl, her insides seemed to liven up some like it had earlier that morning as she saw the girl sleep. 'Is this supposed to happen? Can my heart crumble and leap for joy at the same time?' she asked herself. King Bruce announced the first pair of knights who were supposed to fight first . Gabby sighed a breath of relief when her name wasn't called. "Sir Paul Smith vs. Sir Rhyse Hawk." Gabby and the rest of the men besides the two called walked to the shelter provided that was out of the way, which was just as well, considering it was to rain at any moment. Sir Rhyse was carefree as he stood in front of his opponent, waiting for orders and the permission to start. "The rules to this task are simple, as they all are. See the blue paint over the chest of your shirts?" Both men nodded. "The man who can get past their opponent's sword and can tap or even touch that paint on the armoured shirts wins that fight. Get ready!" The man, Ketterly, watched as the men got into their stances and waited for the signal to go.

"GO!" He called, watching them both closely. After watching Sir Rhyse in his fight with Sir Paul, Gabby had confirmed her thoughts on the knight, knowing for sure that she almost hated the man. He was a bully, he was too sure of himself, and well, after that first task and what he did, Gabby was sure he wasn't a true knight with such behaviour. He liked to use intimidation as a key tool to his success in these fights, and it worked, and it threw poor Sir Paul off of his game. Gabby was sorry to see the man win, as mean as those thoughts were. She truthfully didn't want to have to go up against him in this tournament. "Sir Thadius Manx Vs. Sir Cashius!" Ketterly yelled to the audience. The two knights looked at each other with a raised eyebrow.

"I wish you the best, brother." Of course they weren't really brothers, but their bond ran through them thicker than blood. Thadius nodded to his friend.

"Nothing but." he replied. Gabby smiled as she watched the men face each other. There were footsteps, and she saw Brian, whom was eliminated from the first task, but was sticking around to watch his father and his twin (both there to win some prize money) in action.

"Hey Charles, I bet you 10 coins that Thadius loses this match." he whispered to his brother, who was standing next to Gabby. The other twin grinned.

"I bet you 20 coins that he goes down in less than 100 strokes."

"And what if he wins?" Gabby asked. She knew she shouldn't be butting into this, but Gabby was a gambling man at heart and couldn't resist a good wager now and then, and she was good at it, knowing her limit and when she should back down.

"You know Thadius can't win against our old man." Charlie boasted, obviously proud to share blood with the man he spoke so fondly of.

"True that is, but it has been almost a year since they had last had a match together. Don't you think Thadius has gotten better since then?" 'Training himself so he can keep me on my toes.' Gabby thought with a smile.

"Fine. What if he wins?" Brian asked.

"I will wager that he wins this match, and if he loses -and you are indeed right- then I will give you 40 gold coins." The boys slapped palms in their excitement. "EACH." She stressed. She had the money locked away from when she'd won 200 coins in a swordfight a month before the war had broke out. The boys looked shocked at first, for that was quite a lot to wager on a simple bet, and they only did so between themselves because they ended up buying each other drinks and betting it back and forth between them all the time. This was different, but they still seemed sure of their father, so they nodded.

"You're on, and 80 coins poorer, my friend." Charles said with a cocky grin.

"We'll see who's satchel gets heavier. Until then, I suggest watching the match before your flapping gums jinxes it for you both." Gabby said. The boys laughed, and Gabby joined in before she turned and watched the field, waiting for the match to begin.

"GO!!" Ketterly yelled suddenly. The strokes were like clasps of thunder as metal hit metal with amazing force. This was how most of the men's swordfights were, but they were both putting everything into this fight as well as keeping in mind that it was just like any other they had between them. Gabby had no fears for a sore loser in this match. People in the audience were heard cheering for the knights, and it seemed just as she had always pictured her and Johnny Boy as a knightly team, playing around in front of a crowd at the same time they put their everything onto it as well. _"I know. And the crowd would be screaming our names because they aren't sure which knight would win, but they wouldn't care either way because they'd be promised a good match no matter what." _Gabby smiled at the memory of her friend, wondering where he'd gone, and hoped he didn't have to go to war. A loud clunk took Gabby from her thoughts as she saw that Thadius's sword tip was on the blue paint on Cashius' armoured shirt. Gabby heard the boys groan in the roaring of the crowd. Thadius looked up at the sky and so did Cashius. From the darkening specks of dirt on the ground, Gabby guessed that it was starting to rain as she had predicted.

"We'll get you your money to you after the task." Charles whispered to Gabby, who couldn't help but smile in a manner that clearly said 'I told you so'. "Yeah yeah." Charles said, waving her off before she could gloat and rub things in. Thadius and Cashius looked winded but excited at the same time. They were both grinning from ear to ear.

"You have gotten better, Thadius, no sense in denying that." Cashius said to his long time friend. He then went to his sons who helped him out of his shirt and they walked away to go put it away.

"That was the best match I have ever seen, Thadius!" Gabby said in the manliest way possible, punching his shoulder and forgetting about the chainmail. She hissed in pain and Thadius roared in laughter. Gabby tried not to pout at her now throbbing hand. 'Ass.' she called herself.

"No that wasn't, and you know it." He said, watching Gabby closely. He knew after a minute what was wrong with his young friend, and why she was acting a little over excited about the last match. Gabby had this look of great victory on her face (although a guilty one), and the older knight knew exactly what it was that had caused it. "You bet on me again, didn't you?" Gabby knew she was caught.

"Yes," she said sheepishly, "but only because they were betting on how quickly you would lose. I had to put in a wager for if you won, it was too tempting." Gabby said, fully intent on defending herself. Thadius studied the younger knight.

"How much this time?"

"Eighty gold coins." The look on Thadius' face was priceless, and Gabby would have given up half of her life just to see it again. She laughed at the shock seen on his features.

"Good God! Gabriel, that is more than the price of that ruddy horse of yours! You might as well have bet HIM." Gabby snorted, then watched as Thadius set his sword down then sat down next to it. He was a little tired, and he needed to rest his feet.

"That was how I got him, if you remember. That knight didn't want to back down from the bet at such a high stake, so he bet his horse." Gabby said. "Best bet I ever made." She then looked at Thadius. "I would have bet him, but your pride just isn't worth the risk, old man, even if I was almost certain that you would come out the victor of that match." Thadius glared at Gabby, which would have normally intimidated the younger knight if he hadn't grinned almost instantly afterwards.

"I get half." he said as usual.

"I wouldn't have it any other way." Gabby said, making the burly man chuckle. She sat down next to him and he patted her shoulder so hard that she would have probably fallen over had she still been standing.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

"Sir Gabriel Andrew Vs. Sir Patrick Purty!" Gabby felt herself tense as she heard her name. She picked up her sword and stood up. She took a deep breath and started out to the jousting field.

"Good luck, Boy! Should I bet you'll go down in 50 strokes or 25?!" Thadius called after her. She ignored the urge to shout back at him. Gabby watched the man. Patrick had blonde hair shorter as well as lighter than Gabby's, which reminded her that she needed to get it cut again after the tournament. Gabby tried not to look annoyed as the rain hit the back of her neck and slid down her back.

"GO!!" Ketterly yelled. This was the 8th match he'd seen, and he was starting to get bored. And there was still 6 matches left as these 8 slim to 4, then the 4 slim to the remaining 2. Gabby blocked Patrick's hit and was surprised to find that Patrick was about twice a s strong as he looked, and he looked about as strong as Gabby herself, only she was a little shorter than Patrick, and slightly smaller. The sword almost fell from Gabby's hands and she was sure that she was going to drop it, but she held on the best she could with both hands. After 6 strokes, Gabby was sure she'd gotten used to his strength and let her left hand go of the sword. Almost immediately, the sword was hit out of her hands. She heard soft patter of the rain against the metal. Patrick jabbed his sword towards her chest and Gabby jumped back. A little puzzled, Sir Patrick tried again, and again Gabby jumped out of the way just in time. He looked up at King Bruce whom looked amused, then back at Gabby to make sure she hadn't moved towards her sword . The king gestured for Patrick to continue on. 'He hasn't touched the paint, so I still have a chance.' Gabby thought, then snorted to herself. 'Yeah, and I sprout large black wings...' She added, moving away from another jab, slowly moving towards her sword. She was quick at snatching it from the ground and straightening quickly enough to let metal hit metal once more. She saw her opening as Sir Patrick raised his sword to strike again. She hit his sword away hard enough to make his hand swing away from her, then she tapped the painted area of the chainmail shirt. The crowd cheered in excitement. Sir Patrick looked surprised.

"That was a great match." Gabby said, extending her hand for a shake. He smiled and shook it.

"That is was. Good luck with the rest of the match." he said as Ketterly announced Gabby the winner of this match. Gabby walked back to Thadius, where he was talking to some of the other married knights. He turned to Gabby.

"I'm proud of you, Gabe. That had to have been the shortest match I have ever seen. Very clever of you, getting away all those times without him touching you. That's my boy." Gabby smiled, trying not to hide her face in embarrassment. Though she usually worked hard for that moment alone, it still didn't mean that the comments didn't make her ears turn pink. There was talk about family. Gabby listened in as the knights spoke of their wives ("My wife makes the best lemon sweet cake.") and of their children.

"My son Samuel is a great farmer when he works in the gardens with his mother, but I fear that is all he shall become." said one knight. Gabby had long since forgotten his name, only knowing that he came from the Hawk Kingdom, but not on the same day as Rhyse. The men smiled, most of them with sympathy.

"Aye, my daughter Mary Elizabeth is writing in the wee hours of the morning-using up precious oil for the lamp, mind you- and for what? Stories, tales of speaking animals and damsels in distress saved by handsome princes from lands far away that no one has ever heard of. Rubbish, I say."

"Perhaps they will be of use in the future." someone suggested.

"Well, they do help the baby when he's crying." The more they spoke, the more Gabby longed to join in. What sort of tale would she tell them of if she herself had a family of her own? 'My daughter Emily has the most beautiful green eyes... Takes after her mother, she does.' 'My son, Henry already knows how to ride a horse. Makes his sire proud...' Gabby knew that this would never happen and she couldn't have what these other men had, but since she was 24 winters old, she'd pondered what her wife would look like, who their children would look/act like throughout their life, and what they would become when they have to live their own life. Gabby knew she wouldn't care if her daughter became a king's fool or if her son became the best pig farmer in the world, she would just give anything to say 'My wife... My daughters... my sons... Mine...'

"Sir Dick Grayson Vs. Sir Gabriel Andrew." Deep into one of her many futuristic fantasies involving an unknown wife and 3 children, Gabby didn't hear her name being called, and she was nudged rather hard by Thadius, who was sitting next to her once again. She hadn't noticed his presence because of these thoughts, a daydream really, about her grown up son marrying whomever he wanted to because he loved her and she loved him back. She looked up at Thadius and sighed.

"You're next."

"Alright, old man, I am getting up." And she did, stretching her legs with a groan. She wasn't aware just how long she was sitting down thinking. It was then she noticed that she was up against Sir Dick Grayson, probably the only knight that she didn't already know that she respected. She didn't want to, but she walked up to him. She took her stance slowly and waited.

"GO!!" As expected, Dick's strokes were strong, yet on their target every time. They weren't just filled with power, but Dick knew where he wanted his sword, and he'd be damned if it ever went elsewhere. There were many times that Gabby just barely hit his sword away before the brunette knight could tap the paint and eliminate her. She wasn't so sure why she was still fighting to stay in the tournament. Perhaps she just wanted to see how far she could go within it before she did get eliminated, or perhaps she just didn't want to live with the thought that she could have let Thadius down, but she was there, and she wasn't about to let herself get eliminated just yet. She took a deep breath and made an almost roar like cry as she hit Dick's targeted strokes, sending him out of his rhythm. Gabby didn't let him find it again, for she was now on the offence, keeping him on his toes. It was a long fight, a good few minutes like that, and Gabby was slowly wearing down. Gabby could tell that Sir Dick was as well. When Gabby hit Dick's sword out of his hands, the dark haired knight wasn't sure if he could get to it in time. He slipped a little in the mud, bring the knight to his knees. Gabby hesitated, then made a quick jab for his chest. When she looked, the tip was on the paint and she was breathing hard. She slowly took the sword away from him as the cheers were heard. "THE WINNER, SIR GABRIEL ANDREW!!" Ketterly was heard as she held out her hand to help the fallen knight. Sir Dick Grayson nodded hi s thanks and then went off to put his things away and perhaps get ready to go back to the Kingdom of Bludhaven.

The blonde knight watched as Thadius beat Charles, and as Sir Rhyse beat another man in his own kingdom. They laughed and had a nice little chat after the fight, and it looked as if he liked the man he had just beaten. This was it. Whomever won this last fight between Gabby and Thadius had to joust a best of 5 with Sir Rhyse the next day. The wind had long since stopped, but there were still large droplets of water falling from the sky. She stood before her mentor and friend and wondered what would come of this fight. She was scared of fighting against Thadius and not for the first time; many times she would fight him, afraid that if she lost she would be seen as an unworthy squire, yet every time (she lost) she would get a pat on the back and a grin from him as he complimented her on her effort or some stance she'd used, and to Gabby that was worth all the fear. "Jus' pretend this is practice. Give me that effort and determination I always see and things will be just fine, you hear me Gabe?" Thadius murmured just barely loud enough for her to hear. Gabby nodded, then smiled. 'Just practice... without the taunting... Damn, that is the best part.' She thought with a slight grin. She held her stance, and Thadius winked at her as if to think the same thing.

"GO!!" Gabby knew Thadius' opening move, a swift swing towards the stomach, but Gabby blocked it, and was surprised that the moves after that were almost like a dance between them; Thadius knew where she would move and she knew where the older knight was going to move, so after a long time, Gabby got a glint in her eyes, a small challenge to her teacher. A look that asked if he was ready to learn. She started moving in another rhythm, one that Thadius wasn't expecting.

"Ah, nice one, lad. You're still..." he panted "not... going to beat me, though."

"We'll see old man, we'll see." Gabby shot back, but she was concerned for the breathlessness of her friend. She felt the rain fall down harder and the wind pick up, slowly freezing her fingers. She was just glad that after this fight the day was over and she can go start a fire in her room. She jumped towards Thadius, intent on jabbing his chest, but he'd fallen in the now muddy ground, and he looked as if he was hurt. He grabbed his knee and looked up at Gabby. He wiped some of the rain that fell on his face away from his eyes.

"Tap the paint, Gabe. I have to stop, I think I broke something."

"No, get up. You've fought with worse. I want a fair fight, man." Gabby said.

"I taught you well, but if you don't tap me out of this tournament, I swear I will skin you alive, Boy. Do as I say!" Thadius barked, wincing as he tried to get up. Gabby looked at him, taken aback by his harsh orders.

"I'll get you the healer when this is over." Gabby said flatly, tapping his paint.

"You've done well. Couldn't be prouder if you were made of my own flesh and blood. Now help an old man up. I tell you I am not cut out of this anymore." Gabby lent him his hand and then together got the older man to his feet. Thadius punched the younger knight affectionately on her shoulder, then started walking away with not even a limp. "Put in a good hit for me, Lad." Thadius said over his shoulder, not even looking back. Gabby was bewildered more than anything, then she figured out that he had fooled her. 'But why?' She asked herself. 'Of course, so I have a better chance to winning Princess Helena's hand. That is what that was about.' Before she could get properly angry at Thadius, King Bruce nodded over to Sir Rhyse, who joined her on the field.

"THE WINNER, GABRIEL ANDREW!!"

"Well done, men. Congratulations to both of you. Tomorrow, you shall do the last task. A joust, best of 5." King Bruce smiled. "Say men... for fun, how about you two have a match right now?" he said. Gabby didn't want this. She was aching all over from her last match with Thadius, and she wanted to sleep so desperately, but seeing Sir Rhyse's face and t h e challenge written there made her nod. She turned to him to face him. "And now, just for fun, a special fight. Sir Gabriel Andrew Vs. Sir Rhyse Hawk." Gabby made sure that her sword was properly gripped in her right hand, the tip pointed towards the ground. Rhyse copied her motion, standing taller than her and staring down at her in a menacing glance that didn't phase her in the least. "GO!" Rhyse made the first move, going for her sides a little more. Though he seemed confident and a little bored with the other men, Gabby could tell that Rhyse saw her as a threat to him, and she understood. He seemed to concentrate all of his energies on the match, which he still seemed to be losing. He let out a loud grunt as he tried to push Gabby back. He'd succeeded. It wasn't against the rules, so as she fell backwards she tried to hold her left hand out to break her fall some, but she landed hard on it and she felt a lot of pain. Faintly, the blonde knight could hear roars of anger from Thadius and the twins about un fairness, but she tuned them out. 'Thadius has fought with a hurt arm before... I can too... But that fall sure did hurt it. I hope he wasn't this hurt when he did.' Gabby thought as she hit Rhyse's sword away, which was trying to touch her chest.

"I'm sorry, I thought you were ready for that one." Gabby growled in her throat, a sound so low that she wasn't even sure if it was her that made it, or if it was some howl of the wind. Rain poured harder, and it only seemed to add to her anger. She blocked all o f his other advances as well, and the older knight saw the anger, and he knew that Gabby wasn't going to let that one go. With her left hand held gently to her stomach, Gabby fought as much as she could. She was exhausted. Rhyse saw this and thought it was time to end it once and for all so that he can continue to the joust and win the princess. He raised his sword high in a dramatic ending, only Gabby quickly saw her chance and touched the paint on his chainmail shirt. Rhyse stopped moving in shock as if he had been pierced through the heart, and Gabby momentarily wished that was really the reason for his expression. She wanted to somehow gloat and rub his face in the dirt with her winning words, but she didn't. Thadius taught her better than that, so she just put her sword to her side and listened to the crowd as they clapped. The way the crowd was still there, clapping and seemingly having a good time despite the wind and rain was amazing to the young knight. She just hoped that no one would catch cold.

"Well done. You two go rest now, I will talk to the two of you in the morning." Gabby nodded and then pushed roughly past Sir Rhyse to make her way towards Thadius.

"I saw what that snake did you ye'. Are you okay?"

"I'm angry with you as well, so don't talk to me. I wouldn't even be over here if I didn't need to get this bloody armor off." Gabby snapped.

"Look Gabe, I was only trying to-"

"What you did was help me cheat!"

"What do you think Sir Rhyse had done when he fought his last match before the one with you?!"

"I don't give a horse's ass what Sir Rhyse did or didn't do. If he wants to increase his chance for winning the princess then so be it. Even if I wanted to win her, I would have wanted to do it on my own."

"I just want what's best for you." Thadius defended himself, feeling himself get angry with the younger knight, making him roughly lift the chainmail shirt. Gabby growled. "Sorry."

"I am not here for that. And this," She gestured with her good hand to the injured one, "isn't worth what I had originally came here for, Thadius." Gabby said. Thadius carefully finished removing the shirt, and Gabby was about to go her own way when Thadius grabbed her shoulder.

"Listen here, Boy-"

"No!" Gabby barked, "You listen to me. Let... Go." Gabby said. Thadius looked a little angry and a little disappointed at his charge's behaviour, but he let go of the smaller knight and watched as she walked away.

"Good job today, Gabriel Andrew. Excellent fighting skills." King Bruce called as she passed him and his family. This made the knight stop walking. She watched for a second as they were helped out of the rain.

"Yes, very impressive." Princess Helena added once they were inside the castle and in the main corridor.

"My daughter has requested that I ask you to join her for a stroll, as you hadn't gotten a chance to before. She is rather shy when it comes to speaking with men." he said. 'Apparently not with flirting with them, I suppose.' Gabby let herself think in her foul mood. She smiled warmly to hide her thoughts.

"Of course. I was about to go see the healer for my arm, but I hope to be with you within an hour's time."

"Yes, that will be acceptable. I have to go make myself a little more... presentable since the rain has me drenched." Gabby nodded again and then left after the proper goodbyes. She walked the corridors looking for both Kafka and Barbara, though she doubted to find either of them at that time. She checked the stables for Kafka, but he wasn't there, and also saw that Diable' Blanc was gone as well, and she only hoped that Kafka was taking care of the little thing. Gabby's wrist was starting to hurt a little more, and her fingers were going numb from the cold, so she ran into the castle, again looking for Barbara. She was on her way to the room Dinah had gone to the night before when she saw Barbara in the corridor looking exhausted.

"Gabriel? Gabriel Andrew?" she asked, looking her in the eye.

"Aye." She grunted, stopping in front of her. She looked down at her wrist, and the healer followed the knight's gaze.

"So it is true. You _did_ get hurt. Let me see your wrist." She said in a no nonsense tone. Gabby extended her wrist to the woman and looked at her as she slowly touched and inspected it. In her exhaustion, Barbara looked to be older than the knight knew she really was. The healer couldn't have been more than 7 or 8 years old when Gabby was born, yet at this moment she looked as if she was at least 50 winters old. "This is all I can do." Barbara said after a minute or two. Gabby moved her wrist around slowly. "My powers... I can't heal you anymore than this. I am sorry."

"It is alright. It is just sore now, it will heal in a few hours."

"If it doesn't, come see me in the morning before the joust. It's just... I must be using more of my power for Carolyn than I thought I was."

"How is she?" Gabby asked, curious. Barbara had a pained look on her face, and the knight knew she didn't want to talk about whatever was going on with the woman.

"Worse. Always getting worse." Barbara responded. They were both quietly standing in the corridor, looking anywhere else but at the other. Gabby saw a tear fall from the healer's eyes and Gabby pleaded for the woman to stop crying. Gabby hated seeing a woman cry.

"Is there anything I can get for you? Any way I can help?"

"It would be a big help if I could get a miracle right about now, Gabriel."

"I wish I could grant you that miracle, Barbara." the young knight whispered.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Barbara tried again to heal the knight after a few minutes of rest, in which Gabby spoke with the woman about the magic some people received through birth like Dinah and Kafka. "It is not magic," she'd insisted. The healer spoke of her childhood with her gifts and spoke of how the power she had slowly started to grow. Like Dinah, they started when she was young, but she doesn't remember when exactly it started, and the healer believes she's always had her powers, at least in the form of healing herself. It has been just recently that the healer admits to feeling the sick or hurt before she heals them.

"Why are you telling me all this? If people are to be shunned for these gifts, then why are you telling _me_?" Gabby asked when she moved her wrist again. It was no longer sore and it seemed as if it was fully healed.

"Dinah trusts you, and I trust Dinah. She's seen inside your mind and your heart, so she knows what you are all about. From what she's told me about you, you are a good friend to her, something that she is not used to having."

"But... she's only known me for a few days." Gabby said, watching the healer. She ran her hand over her shortened hair and felt the dampness that the rain had put there. She sighed in annoyance.

"It doesn't matter. She knows who you are now, and she trusts it, I trust you."

"Come on, Barbara. I will take you to the great hall. Maybe some food will help your powers be restored."

"Perhaps you are right, Sir Gabriel." Barbara let the knight take her to the great hall where she nodded as her goodbyes. "Aren't you coming inside? You need to regain your strength as well." Barbara said, sounding concerned.

"I will be by later. I have to go see Princess Helena. We are going for a stroll, though where we can go when it is raining so hard outside is beyond me, but I will do what I have to." Barbara smiled, somewhat sadly. "Hey, tell Dinah when you see her that I will be back in our room after I eat, so if she needs to talk or something... I will be there." Barbara nodded and entered the hall. Gabby watched the door for a minute more, then she walked slowly towards the hall where Helena and the King's sleeping quarters were. This hall was closed off, but there was a guard at the door. "Excuse me, sir, but can you please inform the princess that I have come for our stroll?" she politely asked the guard. He smiled at Gabby and nodded, opening the door to the hall and closing it slowly in a non-rude way in the knight's face. Gabby waited for a couple of minutes before the guard returned.

"She's been expecting you and will be out an a few moments." Gabby smiled.

"Thank you." Gabby felt obligated to say. The guard nodded once more, then they stood in silence. The door opened a while later revealing the princess, whom had changed from her simpler dress to a more chic dress that clearly showed her status. It was a long purple gown that covered her feet, and she was wearing fine jewellery on her hands and on her neck. Gabby understood the need for a more presentable look, but the gown she now wore simply begged for someone to rob them. The knight smiled at the princess as she made her way towards her.

"You are earlier than I expected."

"I am sorry if I had thrown you off guard by my early arrival, Princess. I hadn't expected to be healed so quickly."

"Our healer is the best in the world. The way she works is almost like magic. If she hadn't saved my mother during my birth, I am sure she would have been tried and killed for witchcraft years ago." Gabby was silent at the moment, trying not to think of the red-haired woman tied to a stake with flames flowing around her.

"Shall we?" Gabby said, extending her elbow. The princess linked arms with the knight and they started to walk the corridor with Guy, Helena's personal guard, walking leisurely behind them at a distance, but not one so great that he wouldn't be there if something went wrong. "This is my first time in the Wayne kingdom, so forgive me Princess, if I do not know my way around the castle. I do not know of a place for us to walk when the rain falls so." Gabby said, slowing her pace when she found that the princess was having a little troubles walking at her pace because of her gown.

"Of course, Sir Gabriel. I suppose I should give you a tour of the castle. After tomorrow, who knows, you might be living here." she said shyly.

"One can only hope, Princess... and a tour of the castle sounds wonderful." Princess Helena seemed pleased to hear this and showed her to the library, which was the closest room to them.

"This is my favorite place to be. My father gets new stories every month, and I love to read through them before anyone else... There are too many of them for me to read. Before I can get through the ones from this month, there is always a large sum coming from around the world the next. It makes my head spin." Princess Helena said, running her finger over one of the opened scrolls on the desk. "This one is my favorite. It is about a man who isn't of royalty, yet still he fights everything he believes in to become a knight and win over the woman he loves. Happy endings are what I enjoy." She said.

"I enjoy a good tale with a happy ending as well." Gabby agreed. They wandered out of the library a few moments later, and they peeked into a room where King Bruce liked to read his favorite scrolls. ('All of them are about fighting for what is right even if people lose their lives along the way. My father always says that their lives were not lost in vein if they win their fight, but it makes me wonder about those whom have died, and then their battle is lost.' Helena had said.) When they walked out of there, Gabby bumped into Brian.

"There you are! I am glad I found you at last. You are a hard man to track down. I tried your quarters, but there was no one there-"

"Mind your manners, Brian." Gabby said, using her head to gesture towards the princess. She frowned in thought as she heard that Dinah wasn't in the corridors and hoped things were alright with her, it starting to get really late in the evening.

"My apologies, my lady." Brian bowed. He then turned towards Gabriel. "I just wanted to give you the money from our bet this afternoon as to let you know I didn't go back on our side of the deal." he said.

"I trust you and your brother, Brian. It could have waited until I entered the great hall." Gabby responded.

"We thought you might not come again like last night." Brian said. He handed Gabby a satchel of coins, and it seemed heavier than Gabby had expected it to be.

"Not all of it is gold, so there is some silver in there as well." Gabby nodded.

"Thank you." she said, tying the sack to her wrist.

"You're welcome. Well, I shall not keep you any longer. Good evening." Brian said to the both of them, and then he was on his way, most likely back to the great hall where there was a large feast of rabbit stew. The thought of eating the beasts she'd slain the day before made the knights stomach churn, and so she was grateful for the question the princess next to her asked.

"Do you bet often?" Helena asked.

"Guilty, Princess. I am known to bet now and then." Gabby admitted.

"At least you are honest about it. Many people would lie, but my father is known to bet on horse races, so I do not see the problem with it." Helena said. They walked for a while in silence and after a while, Helena's arm slipped from the knight's, and her hand slid next to Gabby's and she found herself holding it. This shocked the knight because this contact was a little more intimate, and as far as Gabby knew a couple didn't hold hands until a month or so after a known and announced courtship. This felt almost scandalous, but looking at the princess, Gabby saw that she seemed to feel safer like that, so she put the fear aside. She was just making the princess feel safe as they walked innocently down the corridors. After a while something felt wrong. Gabby stopped and squeezed her hand to signal for her to stop as well.

"Be still, Princess." There was a grunt from behind them and then a thud. Gabby ran to the fallen guard and took Helena with her. She checked for his pulse. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that he was still alive, but he was knocked out. The princess was yanked away from the knight quickly, and Gabby straightened to see what was going on. A small man Gabby's age held a dagger to Helena's throat. Gabby recognized this man as one of the men who played the fanfair before the tasks.

"Give me that satchel and no one gets hurt." He said. he had already taken the jewellery that Helena was wearing, and he was pocketing it.

"Alright. Let me have the princess, and I will give you the money." The small man didn't move. "You have my word."

"Your word means nothing, no matter who you are." the small man spat out angrily.

"Fine. Just... Don't hurt her." Gabby untied the strings and handed the money to the man, who snatched it and looked inside. His eyes widened.

"You don't make your bets lightly." He smirked, but he held on tighter to the princess. "I'm sure you have more locked away somewhere, so I am going to hold on to my prize until I get every last bit of it." The short man was bald, even though he wasn't in that stage of his life, and his eyes were slightly sunken in as if he hadn't slept in days.

"You have what you came here for. Give the princess back or I will be forced to fight you." Gabby took out her sword from it's hilt and slowly got herself ready for a fight.

"I will fight you, Sir Gabriel, but by my rules. Let's show the princess how impressive at fighting you are WITHOUT the sword. I will show you that I am more of a man than you will ever be." Gabby glared at him. 'Oh, the irony,' the knight thought.

"If you know my name, sir, then you will know that I am not one to pick for a fighting opponent." Gabby warned.

"I have no worries. You knights are nothing without your swords." The knight frowned, quickly getting tired of this man as it was, but to insult the knights she knew, who were noble and brave, well, that just boiled her skin. Unfortunately, the man was right about what he said.

"Fine. Let go of the princess and your weapon, and we will fight, hand to hand, man to man." Gabby challenged.

"Fine." the man agreed, shoving the princess to the ground. The knight dropped his sword at the same time the man dropped his dagger. She heard them both clatter to the stone floors. She saw the other man vanish, and she became confused. Suddenly, she felt a blow to her stomach as the man reappeared. He vanished again and she felt herself being kicked to the floor. She winced in pain as she saw suddenly the man kneeling above her. He had his dagger again, and it was at her throat now. He swiped at her, but she moved, so the blade only got to the lower part of her neck near the collarbone, and it had started to bleed. The man grinned viciously. The man head jerked a little bit and he turned around to see Princess Helena, now shoeless on her right foot.

"Leave him alone!" She yelled. The man was quick and had her in his arms again. She struggled, hitting him a couple of times. The man raised his arm to strike the princess. Gabby scrambled to get her sword but found it was too far away. Then she saw the man's dagger in his hand and remembered Johnny Boy's dagger which she kept on her thigh. She took it out and had it pointed to the man's back. He froze. The dagger was always sharpened, as Gabby liked to keep it that way so that it would be sharp for Johnny Boy when he got it back.

"A real man, knight or not, would never strike a woman." Gabby said in a low threatening voice. The man's hands raised, showing his surrender and tried to turn around, but Gabby dug the blade a little bit into his back, making him feel its point.

"Please... Please don't kill me." the man pleaded.

"I do not kill unless it is necessary. You won't make it necessary, will you?" Gabby asked, as if she was talking to a tyke.

"No." he said, and the knight almost felt a small amount of a sick pleasure when seeing his fear.

"What is your name?" she asked.

"C-Cameron." he turned around.

"Cameron... I will spare your life... but I don't think King Bruce will be as kind." Cameron froze. He knew he was in for a grand punishment for this robbery. He was so sure that he wouldn't get caught with his powers evolving as they did. Fear was seen all over his features. He was grabbed suddenly, and Gabby looked up. Guy was rubbing his head and wasn't looking very happy.

"I don't think I will be either."

"Are you alright, Guy?" Helena asked, genuinely concerned for her guard and friend. The guard smiled and silently reassured the princess that he was, and then he roughly shook Cameron, who started squirming in the larger man's hold. Gabby picked up the Princess' shoe and Helena lifted her foot as the knight helped her put it back on.

"Thank you for your help. I wouldn't have defeated him without it." Gabby said in a voice so soft that it was hard to imagine it so harsh, so cold as it was only seconds before when talking to Cameron. She saw the princess go a little bit pink.

"You're welcome. You were wonderful without my help you know, trying to get him away without any violence at first." Gabby offered her elbow and Helena took it, and they walked behind Guy and Cameron, who were headed towards the king's quarters. They ended up in front of the hall entrance where the guard stood.

"Do we have a problem, Guy?"

"Sir Gabriel and Princess Helena were attacked just now. I was knocked out, and Gabriel had to fight him alone." Guy looked ashamed. "Gabriel defeated him, but I brought him here."

"I'll get the king."

"Yes," Guy looked at Gabby as he tightened his hold on Cameron. He took the satchel from the man and returned it to Gabby. "I believe this is yours."

"Thank you." There was a rush to the door a minute later.

"Helena, are you alright?"

"I am okay, Daddy. Gabriel saved me, but he was hurt." King Bruce saw the cut on her collarbone before Gabby bowed.

"I hope it isn't deep."

"It isn't, Your Highness." Gabby said. She watched as Queen Selina came out not long after King Bruce and embraced her daughter. Gabby suddenly felt she shouldn't be there. King Bruce studied the cut once more, and then he studied Cameron.

"Tell me, Sir Gabriel... What hand held the dagger that made that mark?" Gabby thought it was an odd question, but she thought over the events from the last few moments in as much detail as possible...

"He held the dagger in his left hand, sir." Gabby responded when she saw that the king was starting to get impatient.

"NO!" Cameron yelled. "H-He lies!"

"A knight never lies." Gabby tried not to wince at those words from the king. "Then that is the hand he loses." the king continued. "Take him away. You know what to do with him. As for you," he said to Gabby "I would like to talk to you." Gabby nodded and followed after the king and then started to walk at his side. "You don't know how grateful I am that you were there to save my daughter." The king looked at Gabby and she smiled warmly.

"I am glad that I was as well. I believe that everything happens for a reason, and perhaps Helena felt the need for me to walk with her so that I would be there..." she trailed off. She was babbling. She never used to babble, but she's spent some time with the seer, and she liked to babble when there was too much silence when she didn't like it.

"I have in my possession 20 acres of land not far from the borders of the Pennyworth kingdom... Just say the word and it is yours. I know it isn't much after saving my daughter, but it is a start."

"Your Majesty, that is more than enough." Gabby said, and it was true. Gabby had always dreamed of owning her own lands for her to grow old on, to build her home on.

"So you'll take it?"

"Yes, I mean..." Gabby blushed a little, feeling flustered. 'My own land!' she though excitedly. She didn't own any land. She just lived with Thadius on his land, but she can't stay there forever, and they both knew it. That was what Gabby was saving up for. "I didn't have any land before and 20 acres... I mean, that is more than I will ever need."

"It is a nice area. Alright then, it is yours." Gabby wanted to hug the king, but that just wasn't done, so she bowed slightly.

"Thank you sir."

_"One! Two! Three! Again! One! Two! Three-" Gabby fell under the weight of Thadius' blows. Thadius shook his head, not sure what he was to do with Gabriel. The older knight said nothing though as he helped him up, brushed him off, and motioned for him to get ready to try again. Irene came outside before they could start again._

_"I told you to be careful with him, Thadius. Can't you see he's getting tired?"_

_"Irene, the boy will be alright. I told you, my father trained me this way, and my grandfather trained my father this way. It's practically tradition." Irene wasn't buying it for a minute._

_"It's alright, Irene. I think this way is better. I feel myself getting stronger this way."_

_"That's right, Boy. My grandfather didn't win all that land by just being scrawny and lean, no offence, Lad."_

_"None taken, I guess."_

_"He worked hard and earned that land, and he was tough. Like a bear, he was. I will build you to be just like him, so you will own half the world by the time you die, Gabe."_

_"I don't think that is possible, but alright. Let's start up again." Gabby said, feeling herself get a little more excited about that day's training._

_"Just be- Oh forget it." Irene said, walking back into the house to watch after Alexis._

_"I love you, Irene!" Thadius called._

_"I love you, too." she called back over her shoulder._

_"Gotta remember to always tell your lady that, Gabe. At least twice a day no matter what the other men think about you. Don't want the ones you love to ever think otherwise." Gabby smiled._

_"Of course not."_

_"Now, get in your stance." Thadius said. "One! Two! Three! Again! One! Two! Three! Again! One! Two! Three! Again..."_

Gabby walked- no, Gabby skipped- around the corridors, dancing to a tune that only she heard, a happy tune from long ago that she'd never remember the name to even if she sat down and tried to think of it. Not that Gabby was in the mood to do such a thing. She was in the mood to run through the corridors and scream out her happiness, for she was a true knight now. This is what she's always wanted, and she is now everything she wanted in what she saw of herself as a knight. 'Twenty acres... all mine.' Gabby thought, still not truly believing it, yet the deed was there in her hands. So, who to tell first, Thadius? Probably whomever she comes across first. She picked up her pace and went to the great hall. If she was going to tell some good new she might as well be eating while she tells the tale. She entered the hall and stopped dead in her tracks, her bubbly mood popped, and her smile slowly fading. She didn't see her older friend in the hall then, in fact, she didn't many people in there at this time, but there was one form in a darkened part of the hall, hidden mostly from the other people within, who paid this figure no mind, but it made Gabby gasp sadly. She was only able to say one thing in but a murmur. "Oh Dinah..."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Tears streamed silently down the young woman's face as she filled her glass with wine from the bottle at her side. She would drain the cup, then refill it again as she thought over whatever it was that was bothering the woman. Gabby was sure she already knew, but she will never know for sure until she asked and found out, but her legs wouldn't move. Finally, she forced herself to walk up to the crying woman and Gabby felt Dinah's heart breaking. Feeling that made her own heart start to break. She knelt next to the woman, but still Dinah didn't look up. The seer had just refilled her cup again and was about to bring it to her lips when she thought the better of it and put it back on the table. "Y' wanna hear a secret, Gabriel?" Gabby stood up, then slowly sat down next to her, almost knocking over an empty wine bottle she hadn't seen before she sat down. She hastily moved it, then checked the table for more, but only saw the two, the one she had finished, and the one she was working on draining at the moment. It was obvious that the seer was trying to drink her troubles away, and whatever secret she was prepared to tell her was possibly the key to these troubles. After a while, Gabby got tired of waiting patiently for Dinah to continue talking. Finally, she sighed.

"Tell me a secret, Dinah." she whispered to her.

"Care'lyn's not gonna make it. S he's... not..." The seer started to sob. 'No no no, Don't do that. I am starting to yearn.' Gabby thought to the girl in front of her, surprised at how true the statement was. She wanted nothing more at that moment than to see the girl smiling. Dinah drank back her goblet of wine, slammed it onto the table, and reached for the bottle. She pushed her hair away from her reddened face before she filled her cup again. "She- She..." she rubbed her face to rid it of tears. "She knows this and wants me to care... for the child as my very own if the baby survives. ME! Me, Gabriel." She finished in a whisper. She looked at her cup and took a drink. "I can't-"

"Whatever you were about to say, don't. I know you can." the knight interrupted.

"But a child, Gabriel? I'm not sure I am ready for that."

"There are monks you can take it to. Tell them the situation, and they will care for it."

"I can't do that, Gabby." She whispered so softly. Gabby tucked some of the girl's blond locks behind her left ear. "This baby's going to be special. I can't just walk away from a baby like that knowing what I know of it. Knowing what it can become."

"It can't be too bad, Dinah. I mean, I do not know much about children except for the fact that we all were one once, but I will help you in any way I can." Gabby said softly.

"What about feeding?" Dinah asked, blushing slightly. "I have no milk for the baby." Gabby thought on this for a minute before smiling softly.

"When I was at the Manx household for but a season, a man had come to the house asking for Thadius. 'Said his cow had a calf and that the calf wasn't feeding... It wasn't getting milk from the mother. So the mother was slaughtered, and Thadius made a pouch. The pouch, from then until the calf was old enough, was used to hold goat's milk. Thadius still has it in the house at home. We can put goat's milk inside and use that for the baby. There's always a way. Let's not give up before we have the chance to find one." Gabby said, stilling the hand that was raising the goblet to soft lips. Dinah sighed.

"You're right, Gabriel." She murmured loud enough for the both of them to hear.

"Come on, let's get you to bed. You look like you need sleep, Dinah." Gabby said, standing up and extending her hand to help the seer up. Dinah grabbed onto it and the knight let her lean her body onto her for support. Together they walked to their quarters as the storm outside blew an icy draft throughout the corridors, blowing out torches and darkening their path. Gabby felt a chill on her spine and tried to hurry them a little bit more to get them into a more comfortable place. "Looks like I will have to start a fire in the fire pit when we get into our room. It is quite cold tonight." Gabby said more to herself than to the seer. With a little bit of difficulty, the knight juggled the girl (whom was by now dragging her feet to the point that Gabby decided it would be quicker to just carry her) at the same time she tried to get the door open. The knight saw the familiar cage on the t able next to an unlit candle with Diable' Blanc inside looking frightened, sitting in the far corner of his cage. She set the satchel of her winnings and the deed down on the table, helped Dinah into the bed without dressing into her night gown, took off her shoes and covered her with all of the linens, including the ones on the floor that must have been placed in there by Kafka, whom had obviously put Diable' Blanc in there as well. Gabby was to use them for sleeping, but after the events that had happened , she wasn't sure she would be able to sleep, even though she didn't get much rest the night before. Gabby went out into the corridor and took the torch from the wall and went back into the room and lit the candle and the fire pit before returning it and tend to the fire, which was slowly growing. The knight took the rabbit out of his cage and stood in front of the fire, deep into her thoughts. When the skies roared again, Diable' Blanc jumped and Gabby did her best to calm him. She stroked his fur and watched the fire.

After a minute, Diable' Blanc had yet to calm, so the knight figured that bringing the cage might make him feel better. After replacing the latch, Gabby crouched next to the fire and watched the flames as she listened to Dinah's breathing through the rumbles of the skies. "The light of flames upon your face is proof that you are beautiful." Dinah said, making Gabby look up at her. In the light that reached Dinah's features, Gabby caught sight if a small smirk. The seer got up from the bed an d took a few steps towards the knight. Gabby stood straight up, which was a relief to her aching knees, and faced Dinah.

"You should be resting. There will be no mercy on your head come morning." Gabby told her. The seer stood inches away from the knight, and the closeness made Gabby a little uncomfortable, yet she didn't back away in case the seer stumbled as she had on their way to the room.

"Y'know? You're the only one whom has never called me Seer. I was always Dinah to you, and you always respected my wishes to get away from the Pennyworth kingdom from the very start." she said in almost a babble. "You have always been kind to me even when I needed a good kick in the head on the way over here."

"Just doing what any knight should." Gabby said, hoping that the slight tingle in her body couldn't somehow be heard in her voice. Dinah's lips touched hers, and Gabby immediately backed away and looked at the seer with surprise. "Don't." The knight said, though her heart reached out for the girl.

"Why not ?" Dinah whispered. She strode to Gabby and placed a hand on her chest. "I feel that your heart beats for me, Gabby." she said in the same hushed tone. The knight knew that the words spoken were correct, but she dared not speak, dared not to look into the seer's eyes in fear of telling her all of her heart's secrets.

"You're drunken, Dinah." Gabby felt the younger woman's hand move from her chest to her cheek, slender fingers tracing the knight's jaw and enflaming the skin. The fingers on her neck were replaced by lips. A presence was felt inside the knight's head, not unlike the first night they'd met in the Pennyworth kingdom.

"Such smooth skin..." the seer murmured against Gabby's neck.

"We-" Gabby gasped, and whatever she was going to say was forgotten as she felt Dinah's teeth slowly scrape against her skin. The knight felt she couldn't breathe correctly, it being erratic with the seer's touch. As the lips left her skin, Gabby slowly opened to her eyes to see flames flicker within the Dinah's. All was silent save the crackling of the fire and the downfall of rain that was just barely heard outside. Gabby's heart felt heavy, filled with emotions she wasn't allowed to feel, yet here she was, wanting the woman before her. She leaned in and was surprised when Dinah met her halfway, their kiss somewhat clumsy, but still soft, becoming sensual in the end.

Gabby found that Dinah couldn't be any closer to her without becoming apart of her, yet the knight felt she wasn't close enough to the younger blonde. She wrapped an arm around Dinah's waist as the kiss deepened, Dinah's tongue tasting of the wine she had consumed. 'With you in my arms, I can't get any closer to heaven.' Gabby thought to the girl. With that thought, Dinah broke away. 'Did she hear that? Have I frightened her away?' the knight asked herself. Dinah studied Gabby for a moment, wondering if what she'd just heard in Gabby's head meant. She'd hoped with everything that it was true, and that thought alone both surprised and frightened her. Dinah then took the knight's hand and led her to the bed. Gabby started to panic. She didn't know much about intercourse except for the talk the men did when they speak of the sometimes many different women they've bedded, except for the married men. They tend to stay quiet, but the unmarried men talk of they sexual satisfactions as if they didn't care of the woman's feelings as long as they got what they'd wanted from her. Gabby had once asked Irene about sex, and she found that the older woman couldn't seem to give the knight a straight answer.

_"Irene?" Gabby asked the woman whom was baking bread at the moment for their supper that night. She turned towards her and asked with her eyes why she wasn't training with Thadius._

_"Yes, Gabriel?" The squire fidgeted. How was she going to ask her this, and why was it so hard to speak to Thadius about it?_

_"I have a question to ask you... about sexual intercourse." she said, looking down with embarrassment. She hadn't the courage when she was younger to ask her own mother and father, but the more Thadius was with his knightly friends, the more the topic came up, and Gabby hadn't the slightest as to what they meant when they asked her half of the question thrown her way. Irene stopped kneading the dough, and showed the then squire that her full attention was hers._

_"H- How is it done? I mean, I know that because of this act women get pregnant and have children... but I don't know what they do, a man and a woman." Gabby said quickly, trying to get it all out before s he lost her nerve and ran away embarrassed. Irene seemed to think about it, then she gestured for Gabby to come closer to her._

_"Come here, Gabe." Gabby did as she was told and walked closer to the taller woman. "I honestly do not know a good way to explain it to you that won't make either of us blush like mad, but let me tell you this. When the time comes, your body and your heart will be ready, and it will know what to do. Your heart will guide you, alright Lad?" she asked. Gabby nodded, feeling a little bit better, but at the same time more confused. 'How will my heart know what to do when my mind doesn't even know how it's done?' she's asked herself._

'Please heart, don't lead me astray.' the knight silently pleaded. She wasn't sure even now what she was to do. All she knew was that she wanted to give this beauty before as much pleasure as she possibly could- if she could without that one necessary organ.

"Are you scared?" Dinah asked softly, her lowered voice breaking into the knight's thoughts.

"Yes." Gabby admitted. "I have never... I have ever done this before."

"Nor have I. Let's learn together... teach each other." the seer whispered into her ear, melting all of the knight's insecurities and objections. Gabby could feel herself blush as Dinah's fingers undid the knot to the in the front of her dress, the corset that shaped her figure. As the corset felt to the floor, the material started to slip, and Gabby was slightly frozen by the sight. Her throat became suddenly dry as Dinah continued on, taking off her undergarments until she stood before the knight completely naked.

Gabby could only think to say "You're so beautiful."

Dinah kissed the knight, then whispered, "So are you." This somewhat surprised Gabby, having not been referred to beautiful in so many years, and it seemed foreign to her, as she had become used to being called handsome instead. The seer's lips claimed the knight's as her hand found the older woman's. "It's okay to touch." she said, bringing Gabby's hand to her right breast. Gabby paused for a second, and her insecurities flooded back. Then she thought, 'My heart says this is okay. She said this is okay, so this is okay, right?' She slowly let her hand move, hearing a sharp intake of air, telling her this was indeed right. Though she wasn't fully sure of what to do with her hands, Gabby knew that she didn't want the seer to stop kissing her. She continued to touch Dinah, caressing her breast.

After what seemed like only seconds (but Gabby knew it had to have been much more than that), Dinah pulled away again and reached down and loosened the knot on the strip of leather that held her pants and her shirt to her. Gabby's shirt was easily removed after that, and Dinah gently touched the fabric that wound tightly to her chest, fastened with a pin. "You've been concealing yourself." Dinah said, somewhat shocked.

"I have to." was all the knight could think to say as a reply. Her mind raced as Dinah unfastened the pin and unwrapped the fabric around her chest, freeing flesh that only the knight had seen in over 20 years. Dinah continued to undress Gabby, and within moments both of them were naked and under the many blankets. Both of them were silent, listening to the storm. Gabby heard the rumbles of thunder, and it seemed to give her just enough courage to touch the seer's hair and position herself so that she hovered over the younger woman. "I heard it hurts the first time. Something that one of the men had once said. I have a little bit of an idea as to what to do. I don't want to hurt you, so promise me that the moment something hurts you let me know and I will stop." Gabby said softly. "Promise me." She repeated when the younger blonde didn't say anything.

"I promise Gabby, but I know you wouldn't hurt me." Dinah replied in an equally quiet voice. Gabby swallowed the lump in her throat. She awkwardly touched the seer's bare skin with both hands, slowly moving downwards. She kissed Dinah's shoulders, her neck, her chest and her stomach at the same time she let her finger explore the younger girl's forbidden curls. When her thumb slipped between her folds, she felt a slickness surround her finger. She looked at Dinah quickly, then her thumb ran over a nub that made the younger blonde twitch. She did it again, and once more, the seer twitched, letting out a small moan. With that, Gabby let her thumb move in a circular motion.

Dinah's breathing sped up. "G-Gabby." she breathed as she squirmed beneath the knight she called for. Gabby let her pace quicken to stay with the rhythm of Dinah's breathing, her whispered name from the seer's lips being encouragement for her. "Oh god." She finally said as Gabby felt the younger blonde's hips leave the bed. She was silent after that, and Gabby stilled her movements

"I- I didn't hurt you , did I?" she asked. Dinah shook her head, and Gabby silently sighed with relief. She ran her hands over the seer's flesh. She felt she just had to touch the girl. Dinah's breathing began to slow down, and the two women just stared at each other as Gabby's hand stroked the seer's waist.

The knight jumped when she heard thunder roll. 'I hope it isn't I that God has become angry with.' she thought. 'Though I wouldn't be here in this bed tonight if He was so vengeful with me.' Gabby pushed those thoughts out of her mind as she leaned down and kissed Dinah's neck, now covered in perspiration. The knight pulled away for a split second and inspected her hands. She took a deep breath, then kissed Dinah at the same time she slipped her two largest fingers in length (her middle and ring fingers) within the seer slowly. When she heard a pain filled gasp, Gabby started to withdraw. "Don't. Please. Just... give me a moment." the seer pleaded.

Gabby was taken aback, but she didn't move. She just lay motionless watching the younger blonde until she nodded a minute or two later. Slowly, Gabby thrust the fingers in and out of the girl. "Faster." the seer demanded after a while. Gabby did as she was told, quickening her pace. Her other hand balanced her body over the seer. As the younger girl's breathing quickened again, the knight licked a slow trail along Dinah's jaw tasting the sweat that rolled over her skin. She tried her best to maintain her rhythm, but her wrist was starting to ache. Still, the knight didn't stop until the seer growled out in unison with the thunder.

Gabby lay next to Dinah and listened to her breathing as she held her as close as she could. "I love you." she whispered so softly that she doubted the seer heard her, which was just as well because Gabby wasn't allowed to love her, yet she did.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Gabby woke up to movement beside her the next morning. She opened her eyes to see that Dinah was sitting up, rubbing her head. "My head..." she moaned. The seer opened her eyes slowly. When she saw who it was next to her, her eyes widened some. "Gabriel." she said, getting out of the bed with the blanket wrapped around her and staring at the older blonde woman.

"Dinah I-" The knight was cut off from her half-hearted attempt to explain

"Did we-?"

"Yeah," Gabby said, looking down for a moment. When she looked up, Dinah was looking back at the knight in horror, and she'd gone pale, which made Gabby feel queasy inside. Gabby herself sat up and reached towards Dinah as a way to comfort the younger blonde.

"Don't." Dinah said, flinching and walking away from her quickly. The knight's hand dropped immediately. Gabby closed her eyes for a split second as a way to hide her emotions. She wrapped some of the linens around her even though she knew that Dinah had seen everything the night before. She seemed uncomfortable about her nakedness now. Dinah surveyed the scene, her eyes switching between the two women to the very well used bed. "No, we couldn't have-"

"Yet we did," the knight interrupted. 'How can she not remember? Had she drunken that much?' That last thought made Gabby feel almost sick.

"What did you do to me? How did you bewitch me?"

"There was no bewitchery. You were drinking-"

"So you took advantage of me?!" she hissed. Was that what happened? Gabby didn't see it that way. After all, Dinah was the one whom had initiated the first kiss, but what if by not stopping it, she _had_ taken advantage of her? Gabby would never think to hurt the seer. She loved her.

"No, I didn't," the knight said, standing up, which made Dinah back away further. "You came on to me." Gabby said. She absently rummaged around, lighting the candle on the table and looking into Diable' Blanc's cage to see how he survived the night. He was staring at her at the moment and seemed content to be where he was.

"I did no such thing. You had to have done something. If I came on to you, I would remember. Why don't I remember if there has been no craft?!"

"I didn't bewitch you, and I can prove it, Dinah. Your power... You can see into people's mind. I will show you everything that happened last night, and if you took a closer look, you will know for a fact that I am not lying to you. You will see everything. What I said, what I felt..." 'How I still feel.' she finished in her head.

"No... no." the younger girl denied.

"Oh no?" Gabby said, feeling her hurt turn slowly to anger. 'Why can't you remember?! You must remember... something about last night.' "Oh yes, Seer." Dinah flinched again at the knight's last hissed word. "Who would have ever thought the quiet seer in which everyone ignored could sound like a jungle beast in the midst of her passion?" Gabby sneered, picking up her hose, braces, and her shirt. She started to dress with her back to Dinah, looking for a way to tightly wrap the fabric around her chest without the pin to fasten it with, for in the middle of everything that happened then night before, Gabby had forgotten where the seer had placed it. Dinah fell silent as she herself dressed. She pulled her hair up a little, and then after they were both fully dressed, they just stared at each other. "It's the truth," Gabby said as if reading the seer's mind, but in fact had just seen the look on Dinah's face. "You had sexual intercourse with a woman. I don't know how that is possible... Never thought it was, but it is, and that is what we did. A woman made you feel that way. A woman showed you that you had more passion within you than you could have ever thought was possible-"Gabby's sword flew towards her from the floor. Had she not jumped to her right, the blade would have pierced her heart and she would have been dead. Dinah's eyes widened and Gabby felt her heart pound in her chest as she realized how close she was do dying. Dinah looked up at Gabby.

"I don't have to stand here and listen to your insults, SIR GABRIEL." she said, stepping towards Gabby, saying her name in anger and disgust after she'd gotten over the shock of what she had done with her mind. Gabby's anger returned full force as the seer stepped into her breathing space a little more.

"Oh," she said crossing her arms in a way to protect her heart and show intimidation at the same time, "Perhaps you'd like to lie down and hear them. You seem to do that well-" It was a slip of the tongue, and Gabby knew it the moment it tumbled from her lips. The seer's hand connected with Gabby's cheek, causing her head to whip to the side and stay there, looking at the stone floors, disgusted with herself for what she'd said.

"Those people out there think you are a man." Dinah hissed. She scoffed, then said, "I, of course, know differently. You walk out there with those men knowing what we had done, you'd get a slap on the back and 'Job well done'. I walk out there with them knowing what happened last night, and I will be forever known as a whore. GABRIEL'S. WHORE!" She screamed, separating the two words. There was a long silence in which Gabby remained still, thinking over her words. If she was so worried about what people thought, then why did she want to share their quarters to begin with? Gabby thought about this for a moment. The world was harsh towards women. Gabby knew this first hand, it being the main reason she had become a knight, and she knew Dinah's point. There was a pounding at their door.

"Dinah! The Baby! I think it's coming!" The voice on the other side of the door was that of Kafka's. Dinah walked towards the door, but Gabby was quick and took her shoulder quickly.

"Everything I said to you last night- and I mean EVERYTHING... It will always be true." Gabby stared into those blue eyes once more before Dinah shrugged away, opened the door and closed it with a slam, making the knight flinch. Then she slumped to the floor. She looked around the room and fought the tears that threatened to spill.

Sitting in a room filled with memories from the night before would certainly drive her mad, so Gabby decided to leave. She picked up her sword and started walking out of the castle. She went to see Kafka and got a carrot from him. She ran back to the room and used the sword to slice the carrot for Diable' Blanc, then walked leisurely back to the stables. She decided she needed a bath. Maybe bathing will wash away the night before... Maybe it will wash away the memories. She knew of a stream in which the knight and the seer had passed on the horse back ride they'd been on a couple of days prior. She prepared Nix. "Don't groan, Nix." Kafka said. "This will be a quick joust today, just a best of five."

"Really quick, I promise, but that isn't why I am preparing him. We are going for a ride. Need more exercise." Nix was cooperative this time, and the woman and horse were at the stream within a half hour's time. "You were right, Nix old friend." Gabby said as she got off of the horse's back and undressed. She waded in the stream and squatted so that only her shoulders could be seen above the water, knowing it was too early for anyone to want to got riding on this trail at that time, yet still being cautious. She let the cold water run over her body, still speaking to Nix as she did so. "She did hurt me, Nix, and you warned me. You warned me through Kafka that she would. Why didn't I listen to you? Because I honestly thought that boy was mad. Missing a bit of his brain. Nutters, completely insane. You were right. I am being punished for this... being a knight. It is the price I am now paying for this." Gabby looked up at the grey morning sky and wondered if it was a mistake to take a bath then. She'd get a chill and those are hard to get over, if she ever does. "I don't care." She decided, letting Him know she meant it. "You couldn't just hit me with lightning, or- or run me down with Sir Rhyse's horse to punish me though, could you? Oh no, that would be just too damned EASY!" She splashed in her anger. Nix shifted feet. "No," she said just barely calmer, "You give me a moment of happiness where I think maybe, JUST MAYBE I had a chance at love. And then the morning comes, which shows how stupid I really am. There is no hell. We LIVE in it, and maybe if we're good when we die we go to Heaven... Otherwise we just go somewhere else where Earth is duplicated." Gabby fell silent, thinking about her rant. "No, this is my fault," she said after many minutes of bathing and getting dressed again. "I was never supposed to fall in love with her. I should just... move on... Forget about her and think of the last task." She moaned, thinking about the last task as she dried her tears and let her hiccups die. "The bloody joust."

"GABRIEL!" A familiar voice called for her as she got on her horse and started to ride. Gabby turned every which way in confusion. 'Why is Irene calling for me? She is at home... You're going mad, Gabriel Andrew. Mad, I tell ya.' But there it was again. "GABRIEL!" Gabby pulled on the reigns to her horse and made him turn around. Sure enough, Irene was there, on Thadius' horse coming towards her. When she got near enough, she saw the state Gabby was in and sighed. "Oh Gabriel." she said softly. "Come with me. We shall ride." Gabby watched Irene in awe. She was wearing a pair of trousers that Thadius wore when he worked in the gardens with his wife. Woman never wore trousers, yet there she was. Gabby did as she was told (because she was good at that), and they walked side by side (er- at least, the HORSES walked side by side) on the man-made horse trail.

Gabby watched Irene carefully, silently wondering why she was there, and more importantly, why she was there on the trail alone. There were bandits and thieves everywhere and if she wasn't with Thadius or someone equally strong, she would have easily gotten killed. Irene aged gracefully, only looking the same age as Barbara the Healer, though Gabby knew she'd seen at least 40 winters. Her dark brown hair was put into its usual braid. Irene was bit taller than Gabby, which made it look odd when the two walked side by side. "Irene?" Gabby asked after a minute or two of an uncertain silence, in which Gabby tried not to sweat in her nervousness. She wasn't sure why the older woman had seeked her out, and hoped nothing bad had happened to Alexis or Elizabeth, whom were like her sisters.

"I heard from Issac that Thadius was planning to enter you into the tournament to win Princess Helena Wayne's hand. I tried to get here before him, but the roads were difficult, and weather was horrid." She said. "But you absolutely can't win this joust today."

"I know this. I do not want to win the joust. I do not wish to settle down." Gabby lied.

"That isn't the only reason you cannot win." Irene stressed.

"It's the only reason that I can think of." The knight said with a shrug.

"I can think of a few others." Irene said almost curtly. Gabby looked up at her, pretending to be amused by this.

"Enlighten me."

"You are not in love with Princess Helena, and could probably never learn to love her if you're in love with the Seer. And the most important reason... You're a woman."

"Whoa!" She tugged on Nix's reigns and he stopped walking, and Irene called out for Thadius' horse to stop as well. "How-"

"Women bleed every full moon, Gabriel, or is it Gabrielle?"

"I preferred Gabby." the knight admitted with her head down.

"Right. I know you tried your best to hide it. I would catch you waking up at early hours of the morning and go wash your linens and clothing, and when you'd forget about the bleeding, you'd blame some wound that didn't exist. I found you cleaning your braics a couple of times, and that was when it occurred to me."

"Does Thadius know?" Gabby asked. She doubted it, because he would have acted so differently around her if he found out, and he wouldn't have even entered her into this tournament, but she had to know. Irene shook her head.

"No, I haven't told him. I figured in time you would tell him." Irene looked around as if she'd heard something not too far from them

"Irene? What is it?"

"Let's move. I fear we might be overheard." They continued down the trail. "Tell me what happened with the Seer. I saw her this morning walking quickly down the corridors with the stable boy, but when I asked her where you were, she said she didn't care and that you could have killed yourself for all she cared."

"She hates me." Gabby said, stunned.

"What happened?"

"Dinah got some... overwhelming news last night. She started to drink... and drink, and drink. I found her in the banquet hall in the middle of this. She told me her troubles and then I helped her back to the quarters and into bed. We... made love, or that is how I see what happened. She woke up this morning and now she believes she'd been bewitched because she couldn't remember any of it, and I that I bewitched her when it was her whom had initiated it. Gabby explained, swallowing the lump in her throat.

"You fell in love with her last night. I can tell. You look like a broken man, Gabriel."

"If what I feel right now, this... pain within my chest..." Gabby shook her head. "I pray my heart never falls again."

"If things were that simple, your heart would have never fallen in the beginning." Irene said softly. I'm sorry your heart is in pain, child, but you must learn from this and continue on." Gabby looked up at Irene with a look of sadness and some shock.

"How can one go back to living on earth after experiencing what Heaven must be like?" Gabby asked the older woman, her voice going soft.

"Find your own heaven on earth." Irene whispered, digging her heels into Thadius' horse and making him gallop away, with Gabby watching after her. The knight sighed, swallowing hard, then she herself took her time getting back to the castle.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Gabby wandered aimlessly around the castle after grooming Nix and helping Kafka with a couple of other horses. She watched as the servants' children chanted rhymes and played their made up games of knights, dragons, maidens, and fighting. Some of them made shapes in the mud, and others just watched as the rest played. They were the type to live alone and never marry, some would say.

_"Thadius, why do you have to leave?"_

_"I am going to help King Alfred in this war, Gabe. You know this. Now, I need you to watch after Irene and the girls, okay? Watch out for them until I get back."_

_"What if you never come home?"_

_"I will, I promise."_

_"Don't make a promise, you aren't sure you can keep. Anything can happen at any moment that would end your life, and we both know it." Gabby said, feeling tears well in her eyes._

_"Okay, alright, no cryin'. I won't promise ya nothin' but you gotta know that I will fight with everything, and I PROMISE, Gabe, that I will do all within my power to bring myself safely home." The younger of the two nodded, and Thadius waved his flag proudly as he went to join the other men, whom were also going into battle. Gabby watched carefully for a few minutes as they went out of sight, then broke into a sprint as she ran after the walking horses, all lined up._

_"GABRIEL! COME BACK!!" she heard Irene yell. 'What in Hell are you doing?! You haven't even your sword with you!!' something within her screamed, yet still she kept running._

_"What is wrong with you?!!" Thadius shouted at her when he saw her._

_"I'm coming with you." she decided. She was known for making these types of decisions, the types that once thought up, she wasn't going back._

_"No, you will turn around, and go home, you hear me!"_

_"I can't let you do this alone!" Gabby protested. You don't know anyone else, if you die, you'll die alone!" Gabby shouted back, her voice ending in a growl. What she was saying was true. Of all the people he knew, Thadius was the only one who volunteered to fight this battle of the war. Cashius was sent elsewhere to fight with his two brave sons. Everyone else was seen now as a coward, though many of the farmers were eager to fight, for it was their chance to become something better, perhaps be rewarded in the end if they survived with more land, or perhaps gold. "I will die by your side, old man, whether you like it or not!"_

_"Boy, if you don't turn around and get home, I will beat you good, I swear to God!" he shouted, but Gabby stood her ground._

_"Why beat me, and waste your time, when you could be beating them and helping King Alfred win the war?" Thadius thought this over. Logic always seemed to win fights, as it did this time._

_"Pigheaded ass. Stay by me at all times, and here, that dagger won't keep you alive for a full minute." Thadius gave her one of the two long swords he had. "Your last chance to get out of this. They are right over there." the burly man said, pointing in the general direction of where the battle was, a good couple of hours away, but Gabby just stood her ground and stared him down as they walked with the rest of the troop. "Fine. Try not to get killed."_

_"I'll try my best not to get slaughtered, Thadius."_

_"That was not funny, Gabe."_

_"I'm not laughing."_

A liquid falling on her head made the knight snap out of her reverie and look around. She found she was walking slowly around the jousting field where Sir Rhyse was showing off for Princess Helena. He was a good jouster, Gabby had to give him that credit. She watched him as he rode with skill she'd so far only dream she'd possessed. There was another fall of liquid that made Gabby wipe it away and look up. Though the clouds were grey, it looked to be at least another hour before anymore rainfall. In a cage above her was sure the sight to see, though. Cameron was glaring down at her through the bars of a cage which hung about 15- 20 feet in the thickest branch of that tree. He had only his under garment that covered his manly organ. Gabby tried not to look at the place where his hand was no more, and returned the glare. "Shouldn't you be good and dead by now?" she asked, taking a step back to get a better look at the scrawny man. He was shivering madly. No doubt he'd been up there all night in the wind and the rain. Despite this, Cameron smiled viciously.

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" he asked with chattering teeth.

"Actually, I could care less if you lived or if you rotted to death, but you see, the sight of you is sure to scare the children. The longer you live the more they have to look at you, and aren't you an eye sore..." Gabby murmured. "You were the one stupid enough to rob a knight, and I don't care what gift from God you'd been given, you put yourself where you are, so I suggest that you save all the saliva you've got, because spitting on me will only make you dehydrate faster... not that I care." With that Gabby walked on, pleased with herself. True, they weren't the wittiest of things to be said, but she sure showed him. Gabby continued on her quest to nowhere, and let her mind wander once again. This was interrupted a few minutes later as she walked into the banquet hall when she heard a name that made her heart pound. 'Johnny boy' she thought. She walked over to the table where the 3 men whom were in the tournament but were eliminated sat. They spoke as if they were to leave the next day and go back to their Kingdom. Her old kingdom. One or two of them seemed familiar, but there was one, the man whom had said the name of her friend, didn't. "Excuse me, gentlemen." They all looked up at her with a small smile, wondering what it was she wanted from them. "I just heard a familiar name amongst you, and I was wondering what kingdom you 3 came from." she said as pleasantly as she could. One of the men answered and Gabby's heart sped up. She took out the dagger that Gabby was given many years ago, and a couple of the men took out their swords, ready for a fight. "Whoa! Whoa!" She said, putting her hands up in surrender. "I mean not to cause trouble. I just had a favor to ask of you."

"What favor would that be?" the man whom had said Johnny boy's name asked, motioning for his friends to put their swords away.

"There was a woman in a market place far away from here several years ago. She was tattered and she was obviously without a home. She said she would have given it to him herself, but she'd run from her home and she knew she could never go back after what she'd done, so I bought the dagger from her with the promise to return it to its rightful owner if we were to run into each other. She said this man was known to her as Johnny Boy, and she said that was the kingdom where he grew up, but she didn't know if he was still alive, or if he'd still be known as Johnny Boy when I met up with him."

"Aye, he's still alive."

"How do you know this man?" Gabby asked, curious to know what her childhood friend was doing now that he was a knight, for he had to have been knighted by now.

"He got married to my sister a few years back. She had his son, and now they live where his father used to before bandits took over the house and murdered his parents. He's mentioned the woman you speak of. Her name is Gabrielle Andrews."

"She's probably died of starvation by now. Even with the high price I paid for the dagger, she couldn't live off of it for too long." Gabby said, pity in her eyes.

"That is too bad. By the way he talks about her, they could have gotten married by now, but she'd run away, and he grieved along with her parents, and then he met Sarah and moved on."

"I'm glad, for Gabrielle's sake, that Johnny Boy is alright and living the life I'm sure she's always wished for him. Well, there is a family over there that I must eat with, but I would be in your dept if you could give this back to him and relay my sincerest apologies for the death of his childhood friend." The other knight nodded, and took the dagger. "Thank you very much." She walked away from the table with a lighter heart, and smiled as she thought of what Sarah must look like, figuring she must be a female version of the knight she'd talked to. Dark hair, light eyes, strong facial structures... and it made her wonder what Johnny Boy's son would look like. She prayed for the family, then went to join her own for a nice lunch.

What seemed like hours later to the knight, Gabby was sitting on top of Nix in her full armor. Correction: in Thadius' full armor. He'd insisted she used his, since his would protect her better. The truth is, it was way too big for her, so as well as worrying about the lance, she also had to worry about not losing pieces of armor as well. 'This is just perfect.' Gabby thought to herself, as the pitter pater of rain fell on her armor and seemed to soothe her a little with the sound. She waited for the signal telling her to begin. 'Best of five.' she thought as she watched Sir Rhyse's squire help him put his head piece on. Gabby already had hers on. "Ready?" Someone, mostly likely that Ketterly man (though Gabby couldn't see... she actually couldn't see much of anything in Thadius' head piece), said far to her right.

"Aye." she heard Sir Rhyse say quite loudly, but not quite in a yell.

"Ready?" he asked again. There was a pause.

"Sir Gabriel?" Sir Rhyse asked as a way to get Gabby's attention.

"Aye." she called when she realized that the second time Ketterly was talking to her.

"GO!" Gabby was sure that somewhere a flag was being raised and waved, but she couldn't really see it. She could only see in front of her.

"H'yah!!!" both knights called to their horses. She saw Sir Rhyse coming towards her at an alarming pace, and she aimed her lance at his chest the best she could, but she hadn't practiced all day, so it was wobbly, being a little bit heavier and a little bit longer than the ones she was used to practicing with, and she swore she missed. Suddenly, she felt the impact to her own chest as the lance had gotten past her shield, and she felt her whole body hit the ground, a shower of splinters raining on her. She just lie on the ground for a moment, wondering why she was doing all of this. She wondered why she can't just pack up and go home, where she can make a house on her new lands, then live there for the rest of her life alone without disturbance, for that is where she belonged... But then she saw Thadius above her, looking down at her with a lot of concern.

"Gabe, are you alright?" he asked.

"Yeah." she said in monotone.

"Come on then, get up."

"Let him win." she said. 'How easily these words came from my lips...' she thought. "You know I never wanted to win the princess, and he obviously wants to-"

"Are you a quitter now?" Thadius asked.

"I-"

"NO!" Thadius barked, banging on the headgear. It made Gabby's ears start to ring a little bit." That's not the knight I trained! I'll be damned if anyone in my family quits." Gabby said nothing, surprised that Thadius used family as a reference to her. Sure, she thought of Thadius as a father figure, but it was never as if it was said that Gabby was a part of that family. She kind of assumed it, but over the last couple of days she's been doubting everything. "Look, do you remember the first time you ever beat me in a joust... how you felt? Do you remember what I told you?"

_"You ready?" Irene called to the two bodies, one armoured, and one not, on the two horses in front of her. Gabby's heart thudded in her chest. 'Please...' but she didn't get a chance to finish her thought, for Thadius nodded his head, and Gabby did the same. Irene, too nodded, showing that she was ready to wave the 'flag', which was her handkerchief. "Go!" she called waving the handkerchief._

_Gabby closed her eyes and concentrated on holding the lance in her hand and the shield in the other. She yelled to Nix. "H'YAH!" Nix shot off like a boulder on a large catapult. Gabby opened her eyes then. "Come on, boy!" she shouted, almost forgetting to deepen her voice at her excitement. Nix seemed to run faster with this encouragement. The lance was still quite wobbly in her hands after a couple of weeks of training, but she held on as tightly as she could, and she felt she was getting a little better at holding it in just the right position. She suddenly felt a force in her arm and dropped the lance. She shook her hand, looking up at Thadius just in time to see him fight to keep his balance on his horse, then slide off, hitting the ground harder than any of them thought he could._

_Gabby and Irene shared a look. Thadius was down, and he seemed to be having troubles getting his breath. "Uhhhhnnng..." he groaned._

_"Are you alright?" Gabby asked._

_"Good God, Gabriel. What have you done to me?" Gabby was on the defence immediately._

_"YOU'RE the one who decided you could handle training me without any armor on."_

_"Biggest mistake of my life, let me tell you. That was quite a hit, Lad." Gabby had by then gotten off of Nix's back and watched Thadius closely, not moving towards him in case Thadius was angry and felt the need to hit her. Of course, other than in rough housing and wrestling, he never did hit another in anger, which was a surprise to Gabby when she first started to train with him._

_"You just fell off of your horse." Gabby said, putting her hands on her hips as she used to do when she was about to stand her ground in an argument. She realized she used to do this when she was younger... when she was a girl. She quickly removed her hands from her hips and helped Thadius the best she could to his feet. Thadius' head still felt bad from the fall._

_"Come here. Don't look at me like I'm about to beat ya' to death. Truth is, I have no reason to." Thadius reached for Gabriel, who inched closer. Thadius put his arm around Gabby's shoulders. "That really was a great hit. Don't let my stupidity bring you down, alright? You do need a little more work for that, but I have never had a squire before, so this is a learning experience for the both of us. You are already becoming the knight I want you to be. You already have that heart of gold, and by having that you are already halfway there. Being a knight isn't just about jousting or sword fighting, or even strength itself. It's about showing and earning respect, be kind to those around you, fight for what's right and for what you believe in... Believe in yourself, Gabe, that is the most important thing. Right now your mind is telling you that you aren't worth much, but I know you are worth a whole lot. Believe in your efforts, Boy." He said. "Understand?" When Gabby nodded, Thadius patted her roughly on the back. "Good, now we'll start again tomorrow. If we try again today, you will surely send me to an early grave." He grinned as a way to make Gabby feel better, and it worked._

"I felt as if nothing could hold me back after that." Gabby said quietly. "But that was a long time ago. Things have changed."

"What's changed, Gabriel? Tell me." But she couldn't tell him. No matter how many times she tried, she couldn't say the words, she couldn't tell him that she had fallen in love with someone else. What good would it do her? None. It wouldn't get Dinah to love her back, and Thadius would tell her not to worry about it, that she wasn't the one for her... but that wasn't what Gabby wanted to hear at the moment.

"Nothing. Nothing has changed. I am just being silly. The fall did that to me, but I am better now. Help me back onto my horse, will you, old man?" Thadius watched her for a moment, then helped the younger knight onto her horse. She grunted as she tried to get comfortable.

"Good luck, Boy." Thadius said, banging once more on her armor, this time as an encouragement. Gabby nodded.

"Thanks." she said as Thadius handed her her lance.

"Ready?"

"Aye." Sir Rhyse called after he was given another lance.

"Ready?"

"Aye." Gabby yelled, taking a deep breath.

"GO!"

"H'yah

"HA!" Gabby called to Nix. "Come on, Nix." she said to him in a softer voice. He picked up speed, not unlike that first win against Thadius, and Gabby focused on aiming her lance, this time aiming right above the chest, a little more towards the right shoulder. Sir Rhyse's right hand was the hand holding the lance, so it would be hard for him to block her blow with his shield. She felt the impact in her arm, but it she didn't feel herself get hit. She saw that Rhyse was falling to the ground and it looked as if he fell face first to the ground. His squire helped him up, and from where Gabby was, she saw that Rhyse might have a head injury. He was bleeding in his nose and mouth as if he'd bitten his lip when he fell. Sir Rhyse slowly got back on his horse and rubbed some spots on his face before putting on his head piece.

"Ready?" Ketterly asked, meeting Gabby's eye with a concerned face. Sir Rhyse didn't respond.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

"Ready?" Ketterly called out again. Again there was no reply.

"Sir Rhyse?"

"AYE!" He bellowed.

"Ready?

"Aye." There was another delay as Kettery watched Sir Rhyse to make sure he was alright, then he gave the signal.

"GO!"

"H'yah!"

"C'mon!" Rhyse yelled. Both horses went at top speed, Nix going faster than she'd ever known the horse to go. She was slightly concerned for his safety and didn't want the horse's heart to go out or something equally tragic. Gabby aimed the best she could, partially afraid that she would hit the other knight and that it would harm him even further. As much as she didn't like the man, she didn't want him hurt by her hands. There was a crash of splinters, but she didn't feel herself falling. She'd been knocked backwards, but her feet were firmly in the stirrups and was able to right herself immediately. She found Sir Rhyse on the ground when she had righted herself. Gabby herself jumped off of Nix the best she could in her armor, and went to help Rhyse to his feet. She took off his head piece to see he was bleeding even more freely now.

"You're hurt." she observed, looking him over quickly. "The healer, Barbara will heal your wounds. Let me help you up."

"Leave me." he said, shaking her off. "Get back on your horse, Gabriel. We _will_ finish this joust."

"But your wounds-"

"I'm tough. I can handle it. Now get back on that horse." Gabby frowned.

"Gabriel, is there a problem?" Gabby heard King Bruce ask from his seat.

"No. No problem." she assured him. She got back onto Nix with Thadius' help.

"Don't worry about him, Gabe. He's not very good with losing. Know too many men like that, I'm afraid." he said. "Just worry about the next two, and then it will be over, and win or lose, know I am proud of you for getting this far." It started to rain down on them harder, not unlike the night before. Gabby was lucky the thunder and lightning wasn't there this time. Images of the seer in the midst of her passion suddenly filled her mind for the first time since the joust started. She wanted to get off of Nix and run away from everything.

"Ready?"

"Aye!"

"Ready?" 'No, I'm not ready.' Gabby thought.

"Aye!" she called instead.

"GO!!" The blonde night took in a deep breath.

H'yah!" she heard Sir Rhyse shout.

"HAH!" she yelled a split second later. Nix got off to a late start, and it was Gabby's fault for hesitating so. Gabby's beloved horse didn't get to the speed desired, though she could tell he was trying. She felt Rhyse's lance hit her shield, but the strength of the blow knocked her from her horse and to the ground. She felt as if she couldn't breathe for a minute, and wondered if that was what it felt like to get the 'wind knocked out of you'. Drops fell on her face as she took off her head piece. "No." she whispered.

_"Oh come on, Gabe. We can go together, it will be fun!" Thadius was saying as they play fought, wrestling in the garden area of the Manx household._

_"A tournament?"_

_"Why not?" The older man shrugged._

_"I'm not even a knight yet, Thadius, that's why not."_

_"Tomorrow night there will be a ceremony. You'll be knighted tomorrow as the farmers get rewarded for their efforts in the war. You know this as well as I do. You have nothing to lose. Just come with me, we can enter together." Thadius persuaded._

_"I dunno..._

_"Tell you what. If I win this wrestling match here, you come with me. If I lose, you can say no."_

_"I don't like the sounds of that."_

_"It is no different than any of your bets, Gabriel."_

_"But you like to do certain moves that beat me every time."_

_"Scared?" Thadius said in his menacing voice._

_"No-"_

_"Then what's the matter?"_

_"Alright, you bully." Gabby tried to get him into a head lock, but Thadius pushed her to the ground and had her in a pin before she knew what was happening. "Somehow that seemed unfair, but you win. I will go to this tournament with you."_

_"You fought in a war, Gabriel. I don't see why a small tournament like this will intimidate you."_

_"I dunno. I just feel odd about it is all," she said in a low voice. It was the truth. She'd hear Thadius say once or twice to trust her initial instincts, her first inner reaction to things, and there was something about this tournament that told her to stay away from it._

_"Well, you'll get through it, and if I don't whoop you in it, I'm sure you'll be the next best thing."_

_"You sure you can make it through the draw bridge with that swollen head of yours?" Thadius laughed his thunderous laugh, patting Gabby on the stomach, then helping her up._

"No." She repeated as she let her mind wander to the different points of the to tournament. From the moments with Dinah before the fire as they spoke of their past, the first and second tasks, the robbery, the punishment, the healing in her arm... She knew she would never forget any of it no matter what happened to her, no matter how much she'd wanted to. She felt she couldn't do this. She slowly stood up and watched Nix, who was breathing hard from running so quickly. "No more. I can't. We can't." She turned to address the royal family, whom watched her patiently, as if to wait for her to get onto her horse and break the tie between the two knights, but Gabby didn't want to. "Your Majesties," she called in a shaky voice, bending to one knee before them. "Though Princess Helena Wayne is certainly one to fight for, I would like to ask for your permission to eliminate me." Gabby could hear a couple of gasps in the crowd, and she'd heard murmurs of 'Why?', 'What's going on?' and even 'Coward' around the audience.

"I demand to know why you wish for me to do such a thing, Sir Gabriel Andrew." King Bruce said in his voice filled with authority.

"I am not doing this out of fear or pity." She glanced at Rhyse, whom wiped some blood from his lip, but refused to meet her eye. "The truth is, I am weaker than I believed I was in the very beginning. I have exhausted myself and my horse. He is special to me and I do not want his heart to go out. I guess most of all I am doing this..." Gabby swallowed hard, wondering what she was doing, telling the king what she was about to say. "I guess I am doing this for love... sir. You cannot win the one you love in a joust or a swordfight, I know this now." The younger knight bowed her head down and listened as the winds howled insults to her and as the crowd went silent to hear the king's answer.

"Very well. Sir Rhyse, I now declare you the winner of this tournament, and Sir Gabriel Andrew... the loser." King Bruce said with a little bit of disappointment, though the blonde knight knew he was trying to hide it greatly. "Gabriel, you are dismissed, but please ... stay tonight for the ceremonies." he said. Gabby nodded, knowing she wouldn't. She walked to her beloved horse and took his reigns.

"I'm sorry I used you as an excuse, Nix." she said as she walked to the stables. She put him back in his stall, and pet the horse, afraid to face Thadius. He'd come into the stables anyway, moments later, she predicted. She was right. Gabby didn't say anything to him.

"Are you going to tell me what is wrong?" Gabby said nothing, and couldn't seem to look up from Nix's shoulder which she was overly concentrated on brushing. "I should have seen it. Something was bothering you, Gabe, and I wasn't there for you. I'm sorry."

"It wasn't your fault in the least, Thadius." Gabby said, looking at the older knight, but not in the eyes.

"Whatever happened must have happened sometime last night." Gabby looked down, thinking of Cameron. "Was it a woman? A man only looks that shattered when it involves a woman." Gabby looked away, feeling herself break down a little bit. "The Seer." Thadius said. Gabby didn't move, didn't breathe, didn't speak. "Gabe, please talk to me. I know I was a bit harsh with you, but had I known... Look, I am proud of you. You fought, and did your best in this tournament, but you let your heart win. In the end, somehow your heart always wins."

"She hates me, Thadius. I lose no matter what." Gabby said, putting the brush down. Thadius had a look of sympathy all over his face that made Gabby feel worse. "Where's Irene?" She asked as a way to get the topic away from her pain.

"She's inside with Alexis and Elizabeth, I s'pose. They left their seats right after you were eliminated." Thadius gently helped Gabby out of her armor. Gabby was still fully clothed underneath, so there was no insecurities. They were both silent, as this task took many minutes. Gabby packed up the armor into her wagon, even though Thadius said there was room in his. This made the younger knight wonder whether or not Dinah would travel back with them; would she raise the baby in the Wayne kingdom somehow, or would she eventually make her way back to the Pennyworth kingdom where she would always have her place inside the castle, known for the rest of her life as just Seer as she raised another special baby for King Alfred to use as a tool? The two knights stood in silence after the armor was taken care of, and Thadius became uncomfortable in the silence, not sure what to say to the younger knight to his left to make him feel any better about life. "Would you uh... Would you like some time to yourself?" he asked finally. Gabby thought this over, then she nodded. "Alright then." Thadius walked out of the stables to his quarters where he was probably going to pack up so that they'd be off tomorrow headed for home.

"I forgot to tell him." she murmured to Nix. "I forgot to tell him about my land. I had been waiting to tell him, and there he was... and I forgot." Gabby laughed, one not of humor, but of sarcasm, a way for her to keep back the unwanted tears. She was finished with crying. She had no tears left, or so she thought. She tried so hard not to cry again, yet the tears came anyway. She cried for her own pain, but not only that, she cried for Carolyn and the baby, praying silently through her sobs that the baby's delivery is safe. She sobbed for her lost love- if she had even the right to call it that.

"Shh, don't cry, Gabriel." Gabby jumped at the soft voice, and looked up, wiping her eyes quickly on her shirt sleeves.

"D-Dinah." she said surprised. She looked to see that she was also crying, though more silently than the knight had been. The seer's eyes connected with Gabby's, then she walked up to her until they were inches apart. Dinah's hair was down, long blonde hair flowing down her shoulders as it had the night before. Her cheeks were red from her own tears, and Gabby couldn't help but think about how heartbreakingly beautiful she was. The younger woman seemed to fall into the knight's arms as she started to sob harder on her shoulder. Gabby didn't know what to say, what to do, so she said nothing as she held the seer in her arms as she'd longed to do all day, yet not quite like this.

"She's gone." Dinah managed to croak through her tears. "She passed on not but an hour or so ago." she said, and Gabby felt a tear slide down her left cheek and onto her shirt.

"I'm so sorry." Gabby whispered. Then she asked, "And what of the baby?"

"She-" The seer stopped in mid-sentence and swallowed.

"Shh... Take your time." Gabby soothed.

"The baby was killing her inside, but it was her own gift that took her life. She tried to kill herself and the baby, convinced near the end that this child was sent by the devil himself, a demon from Hell."

"Oh God." Gabby whispered.

"She set herself ablaze." Dinah said slowly.

"But," Gabby whispered, "I thought Carolyn had the power of fire."

"She did. She manipulated it and moved it about with her hands so that it didn't burn her, yet she wasn't strong enough to keep it from burning her this time, and she knew this. She just didn't want to move the flames this time; the pain was too much for her. She burned to ash... yet..."

"Yet...?" Gabby gently urged the woman she loved to continue as she let her hand gently stroke the seer's hair.

"Yet the baby survived. It was still in the womb, yet still he survived. He looked as if he wasn't even touched by the fire... and he looked as if we'd just set him there after cutting the thread of life on his stomach. After Barbara and I extinguished the flames around him, I tried to pick him up to start cleaning him and start to care for him, but his skin was scorching." Dinah lifted her head and showed Gabby her blistered flesh, which she'd unwrapped from the bandages that the knight had just noticed.

"Oh Dinah..." Another tear fell down Gabby's cheek.

"That is how it looks after Barbara healed me. She said she'll try again tonight after she's rested. The baby boy is with her now." Dinah said. They were silent for a moment. "I wish not to talk about that now." she whispered. Gabby concentrated on the motion of her hand as it continued to stroke Dinah's hair. The knight felt the moisture on her shoulder as tears leaked onto it. It hurt the blonde knight to see this, hear this, but she couldn't trust her voice to say exactly what she'd meant to say. The seer's tears slowed, then stopped completely, yet still Gabby didn't let go or stop her hand's rhythmic motion.

"I meant everything I said to you last night." Gabby finally said in the faintest of whispers, hoping that Dinah knew that she didn't have to raise this boy alone.

"Including the part when you told me that you loved me?" Dinah asked, her question muffled in the knight's shirt. Gabby's heart sped up. She was almost certain that Dinah hadn't heard her the night before. "I remember it, Gabby. I remember it all. What you said, what I did... I remember it, and I am sorry for the horrid way I treated you this morning." There was silence. 'What do I say that won't make things worse?' Gabby asked herself as she held on a little tighter to Dinah. "Did you mean everything? Even... that?" She repeated.

"Especially that." Gabby said truthfully. She listened as the sniffling soon stopped. Dinah looked up at the knight and kissed her twice before putting her head on her shoulder, her nose buried into her neck. Gabby leaned her head so that her cheek was on the seer's upper forehead. After a while, Gabby lifted her head. "Come Dinah. The stables is not the most romantic place to be when resolving a lover's quarrel." She was surprised she'd referred to it that way, but thinking it over briefly, Gabby found that that was exactly what this had turned out to be. Dinah moved away from the embrace, and the knight immediately regretted saying what she had, missing the warmth of the younger woman right away.

"No, I s'pose it isn't." the seer agreed in a soft voice. She took Gabby's hand, and the knight smiled before leading the way towards the castle.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

They didn't care about the rain that fell on their heads, or the looks that people gave them as they walked into the castle, or even the whispers about them. They cared only for the fingers that intertwined together as if they belonged that way; connected, and that is how it shall remain. Behind the closed doors of their quarters, Gabby lit the fresh candle on the table, and watched as the seer wrung out her dress. "I suppose I shall leave the room so that you can dress. I don't want you catching a chill. I will start a fire when I get back inside. I will just be outside the door." She looked quickly at Diable' Blanc, who seemed to be asleep. 'Soon, I promise you.' She thought to the rabbit.

"No please. Stay." Dinah's eyes pleaded with Gabby more than her voice did.

"But the fire-" the knight protested.

"I have had enough of fires for today. Please." Gabby could almost see the painful memories of the flames in Dinah's eyes."

"Of course, my love. How could I have so readily forgotten-"

"None of that is your fault, Gabby." the seer said, placing a cold finger on the knight's lips.

"But you're cold, Dinah. We must get you warm."

"Shh..." the seer shushed. "I'll be alright." she whispered, "I-I just don't want you to leave." she admitted, sounding a little embarrassed to admit that.

"Alright. I won't leave then." she said. "I'll never leave." the knight decided. There was silence between them as Gabby turned her back to the seer as she undressed. She tried not to think of the silky skin behind her as she started to make a fire with the candle before putting it back on the table. She knew what Dinah'd said about fires, but the temperature of Dinah's finger upon her lips concerned her to no end, and she wanted the woman she loved to be warm and safe and healthy. Gabby jumped when she felt a touch on her hips not long after she stood up from the fire. She wasn't expecting it. Slowly she turned towards Dinah, and was shocked to see that the seer was completely nude. Gabby swallowed when she realized how warm her body was getting despite the fact that her clothes were cold and sticking to her.

Without a word, Dinah undressed Gabby, the knight being almost too afraid to move or speak in fear of this being an illusion of the night before out to haunt her. The seer lead her to the bed. "You- You don't have to-" she started to say as Dinah kissed up and down her flesh.

"I want to."

"Your blistered hand-"

"I- I love you, Gabby. I have never felt... this way about anyone." Dinah kissed the knight, one no more intimate than if Gabby were to kiss the princess' hand once more. "You showed me more love... in one night than I have felt in my entire life thus far. You've made me feel something, though forbidden, that I don't ever want to let go of. I don't want to let go of you, Gabby." she finished in a whisper, a small tear falling from her eye and onto Gabby's neck. The knight quickly sat up, desperate to dry Dina's tears.

"Please... Please don't cry, Dinah." the knight said in the same whisper. She swallowed, not sure if she wanted to say this next sentence that lingered on her tongue, yet she felt she had to. "If you do not wish to let go, then please don't let go." 'Just make sure that I am worth holding on to.' Gabby thought to the younger blonde.

"I started to remember last night after we quarrelled this morning. I remembered what you told me last night, what I did... I meant all that too."

"Then that is all I need to know." the blonde knight said. Dinah kissed Gabby, then gently forced her to lay against the pillows. "I want to love you, and you... You awakened my body last night. I wish to do the same."

"Just your touch, your nearness does that to me." Gabby replied. Dinah's kiss became urgent as if the time for talking was through. The way the seer touched Gabby made the knight's skin heat up within seconds. This was new to Gabby, the way she felt with each touch, and what she had said to Dinah was the truth: Just the younger girl's touch was enough to awaken her flesh and arouse the whole body.

"What I know... about intercourse... I saw. In other people's heads, I mean." Gabby wasn't sure what to say to that, and Dinah didn't give her a chance to speak as she kissed her way down the knight's body.

_"Do you think it's true, what your father said?" Gabby wondered out loud._

_"In case you have forgotten, my father likes to talk a lot, especially when he's drunk. What exactly are you referring to?" Johnny Boy and Gabby were sitting inside eating their midday meals since it was raining outside, and if they were to eat out there, they'd catch a chill. They were about 16 years of age (Gabby being almost 17, and Johnny Boy just turning 16 mere days before at the start of the winter)._

_"Just this morning when he told us how he met your mum." Gabby said, tearing the crust from her bread and eating it. "Do you think that it is possible to have a 'soul mate' as he'd put it? It seems like another bard's tale."_

_"Sure," Johnny Boy said, wiping crumbs from his shirt, then looking at his best friend as he continued, "but I reckon in most cases they've already passed you by." There was silence as they both thought this over. It made Gabby wonder if somehow she'd already passed her 'soul mate' in the market, but didn't see her because she was looking at the newest swords being sold while the other girl walked by. Gabby watched Johnny Boy as she ate, and wondered what his soul mate looked like. "Y'know, my mum keeps saying that we should get married, that you an' me are 'soul mates' because of the way we got on from the very beginning." Gabby couldn't help the unladylike chortle that escaped her. "What's so funny, Gabby?" her friend asked, clearly annoyed._

_"We can't get married!" she cried through her laughter. "We're best friends. It would be too awkward." she said._

_"That's just it, we ARE best friends, and true, it would be awkward, but not as much so as if we were to get married to total strangers. I mean, at least we'd have something to talk about come suppertime." Johnny Boy said, taking a bite of his cheese._

_"True, but I know it would ruin the friendship we have." Gabby stated. " 'How was your day today John?' Being married and therefore grown, we'd be known as Gabrielle and John, you know." Gabby said before continuing to make fun of their future conversation. 'My day was great. I jousted and won us a new cow!' 'Oh that's great, dear. My day was also great, I had another babe, took care of our other 14 children, washed down the house and tended to the gardens, and then I made 4 different types of breads for supper.' " Gabby said, laughing without any humor in it. She then made a face that clearly stated that she didn't like the sound of her own words._

_"Okay okay. Enough of that." Johnny Boy said, sound a little bit hurt by her sarcasm._

_"I'm just saying-"_

_"Please, Gabby? Can we not go into that again?" Johnny Boy pleaded._

_"Fine." They were both silent for a while. "We both know that if 'soul mates' existed, we wouldn't be it for the other. You'd find a n ice Lass somewhere in the market place and fall head over heals for her, and she for you." Johnny Boy nodded in the middle of his bite. Gabby looked down at the Andrews' table, then back up at Johnny Boy. "Okay, let's pretend there is such thing as 'soul mates'."_

_"Alright." Johnny Boy said in a tone that told her to continue with this hypothetical scenario._

_"Suppose you were to meet someone, and you know that your souls are intertwined forever... but your soul mate happens to be another man." Johnny Boy stared at her as if to think she'd gone mad to think to ask such a question. "It's just a question." Gabby stressed, as if to read the boy's mind. "I mean, what if you found no interest in women, but found men to be attractive?"_

_"I don't know, I suppose I would have to pass him by and marry a masculine woman but never touch her except to make an heir and add to my bloodline. I have heard of people who have done that. They can't marry their own sex or they'd be killed, so that is just the next best thing."_

_"Why must you be so difficult, it was just a question?" Gabby asked, rolling her eyes._

_"It was an odd and unexpected question, even you must admit to that, Gabby. I don't see why you are getting so upset." he said in his defence._

_"I'm not getting upset." She said, though they both knew that she really was. She crossed her arms anyway. Gabby wanted to tell Johnny Boy, scream at him 'What if I think my soul mate is a woman?' but she knew what trouble that would cause her. She sighed instead. "I'm sorry."_

_"S'fine." Johnny Boy said, looking over his friend carefully. "What about you? What would you do if you found that your soul mate was a woman." 'I'd marry her in a heartbeat. I can't tell him that, though. I must lie.' Gabby thought._

_"I suppose I'd change my mind and marry __you__ if I wanted a woman." She joked._

_"That wasn't nice. Are you saying I am feminine?" he asked._

_"Not the brightest would-be squire, are you?" Gabby asked, roughly rubbing Johnny Boy's head. Johnny Boy thought this over briefly._

_"HEY!" he protested as Gabby ate the rest of her bread and tried her best not to spit it back out in her laughter._

Gabby ran her fingers smoothly through Dinah's hair, staring into her eyes in wonder. She didn't know how many hours had passed since they'd entered the room, nor did she care, as long as they'd been spent with the seer the way they had been. (Even if those hours were spent just lying there in silence, well, that would have been fine too.) The younger woman hadn't been lying when she said she'd seen things in other people's heads. It made Gabby wonder why she's never bedded anyone before. And the things Dinah had done with an unlit candle... well, it was enough to make the knight blush for at least an hour afterwards, and made her want to find that person Dinah's seen THAT in and thank them until the end of time. At that moment, Gabby lie on her side, leaning over her lover, whom was on her back still, both of them with the blanket just barely covering their waists. Gabby kissed the seer's shoulder, not worried about her exposed upper half. "I could tell you every second until the end of time just how beautiful you are, yet still I would never be able to capture the words to say it properly." she whispered to Dinah. The seer's skin turned pink, and Gabby couldn't help but fall even more in love with her. Faintly, as they had most of the night, they heard some voices outside their door. And again, as they had for most of the night, they went ignored.

"Gabriel! Why weren't you at the celebrations like you said you would- Oh God!" The door was opened without warning, and the voice that both blondes heard was without a doubt that which belonged to Sir Rhyse. Dinah quickly covered up as the door was closed once again as quickly as it had been burst open. Gabby jumped out of bed and reached for her clothes. She somehow knew that Sir Rhyse wouldn't let what he'd just seen go. She dressed as quickly as she could, looking over at Dinah every once in a while with an apologetic look.

"There is nothing I would love more than to spend the rest of my life in bed with you, my love. I will try to get back as soon as I can." Gabby said, but deep inside she had a feeling things weren't going to go very smoothly and that she wouldn't see Dinah after that night. She shook those fears away before she kissed Dinah. (She had a feeling that the seer felt these fears anyway when they touched.) Then she walked out of the warm room and she felt the breeze in the corridors. This made her shiver in an eerie sense of foreshadowing as she turned and tried to find Rhyse.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Gabby wasn't sure what to expect from Sir Rhyse once she found him, but knew somehow it wasn't going to be all that pleasant. Suddenly, when she was nearing the banquet hall, she was forced against the wall, her head hitting the stone. A wave of pain traveled through her, and she was surprised to see Sir Rhyse in front of her with speed she didn't know a man could possess (except for perhaps Cameron, who had some odd gift in which he'd chosen to use unwisely). "I can't believe I lost a swordfight to a woman, and she had one of her hands broken!" He said, his breath smelling strongly of different types of alcohol. His pride was deeply wounded, and it suited the bigger knight jus t fine to take it out on Gabby.

"That was supposed to be just for fun." Gabby choked out the best she could. Rhyse's arm was firm against her shoulders and on her throat. Sir Rhyse ignored her comment.

"A woman... What are they going to think about me w hen they find out that a woman almost lost me this tournament?" Rhyse held onto the blonde firmer, and air was getting harder to come by. Gabby pushed at him and broke his hold, but he was unbelievably strong and held her shoulders to the wall. "I bet that was why you disqualified yourself. Wasn't it, GABRIEL?" Sir Rhyse hissed. He seemed to think this through. "Yesss..." he hissed. "you knew that you weren't good enough for the princess, so you eliminated yourself and settled for your whore from the Pennyworth kingdom."

"You should be thanking me!" Gabby said suddenly, finally letting out her anger towards this man. As far as Gabby was concerned, people can say as they will about her, but speak ill-mannered about her lover and things got nasty. "Had I not disqualified myself, you would have never won! I would have knocked you off your horse and onto your arse quicker than lightning because I am one of the few who wouldn't help you cheat, which is the only way you would ever win in life, Rhyse." The man before the blonde knight saw red, and he raised his hand to strike her. Gabby felt she didn't care.

"UNHAND HIM, RHYSE!!" It was a familiar bark, and unlike the last time she'd heard it, she was happy it came at this time. The older knight turned and glared at Thadius, whom had roughly pushed Rhyse off of Gabby, allowing her to step away from the wall and next to Thadius. Sir Rhyse glared at Thadius with pure hatred.

"YOU! I suppose you're to blame for raising an improper daughter such as this." he growled at the middle aged knight.

"You've dipped too far into your cups, Rhyse. I suggest you go rest your head before things get nasty." Thadius warned slowly in an even tone, drawing out his last word.

"Not nearly as things will get when I tell King Bruce that you've entered a woman into the tournament." He said in deep disgust. "And worse than that, she was in bed with your seer. How dare you bring such filth into the Wayne kingdom?"

"Gabe here is not a woman. He's just so handsome you probably saw 2 women in bed with him." The oldest knight looked over at Gabby's guilty face and seemed confused by the blonde knight's silence. She looked down at the floor. "Gabriel? Don't tell me that this insignificant ass is saying truths. Tell the knight he's lying so you can get back to bed." Gabby could feel that Thadius was getting impatient, but still she couldn't find the words to say anything to him or the courage to look at him. "Answer me, Boy!" The blonde knight jumped at Thadius' thundering demand.

"What he says is true." Gabby whispered. She felt the oldest man's eyes on her, then he chuckled. Gabby looked up and exchanged a quick but confused look with Sir Rhyse.

"Oh, you're gonna have to try harder than that to mess with my mind, Lad. I give you points for effort, though." Thadius slapped Gabby on the back.

"No jokes, Thadius!" Gabby said firmly. "What he says is true." she repeated. The oldest of the knights seemed to sober up immediately while Sir Rhyse's face became smug. He glanced between the two, watching... waiting.

"Oh, you mean you didn't KNOW?" he asked. "Oh, you ARE in trouble, now aren't you?" He laughed, a cruel and heartless laugh not unlike the man the sound had escaped from. There was more silence as Thadius seemed to think things through, then suddenly a look of recognition and disappointment came over him. Gabby would have taken death over that look a thousand times. She tried her best not to cry, but the tears seemed to fight their way to her eyes. She never let them fall, as the next sound she heard was that of footsteps. All three knights looked up and saw that the royal family plus their guards were walking their way to get to their quarters for the night.

"Sir Gabriel!" King Bruce called, making his way to them. "I did not see you at the ceremonies tonight. As I recall, you weren't there last night either. May I ask why?"

"You've got three guesses why." Rhyse muttered.

"I apologise, Your Majesty. I did so not to seem rude or- or a sore loser." Gabby turned to look pointedly at Sir Rhyse. "After all, I did hand him his victory in his drinking goblet." She turned to the royal family. Then she slightly bowed. "I- I spoke with someone, and I didn't realize so much time had passed, sir." King Bruce seemed to take this as an answer, which was partially the truth.

"I have a question, Your Majesty, if you don't mind me asking." Sir Rhyse spoke up after a few seconds of uncomfortable silence.

"I shall give the answer accordingly, depending on the question in which you ask."

"Yes, of course." Rhyse said. He smirked in Gabby's direction.

"Don't even think about it, Rhyse-" King Bruce put up a hand and silenced Thadius.

"We were just having an argument, Sir Thadius and I, a petty one I assure you, but I was hoping you'd be able to... resolve it once and for all."

"What is it?" King Bruce asked, his eyes shifting between the knights.

"What would you say the consequences are of a woman impersonating a man and becoming a knight?" Rhyse asked, trying hard not to look at Gabby. The youngest of the knights took in a deep breath, which was an act Princess Helena saw and didn't dismiss in her mind.

"Well, uh... She would be stripped of her title." King Bruce said almost instantly.

"I see... And what if she beds another woman?"

"You should know by now that she'd be executed, and her lover burned at the stake, for surely there was some kind of craft involved." Gabby fought the overpowering urge to run to Dinah and... And then what? Warn her? Protect her?

"Interesting..." Sir Rhyse rubbed his chin in thought, though Gabby knew what he was thinking. "And... Would these rules be the same if she'd entered a tournament such as this one but didn't win?"

"If she bedded another woman, yes, she'd still die, and so would her lover. If she hadn't, but had still entered the tournament as a woman, then she would be stripped of her title and sent home." King Bruce was looking rather tired now, and more so annoyed with the dark knight.

"And what if she did win the tournament, and won a princess? What if they had gone to bed together without anyone knowing of her true sex?"

"The princess would die as well, being the lover of that knighted woman."

"Would you do that to your own daughter, sir?"

"My own daughter wouldn't bed a woman." King Bruce responded immediately, almost defensively. Gabby stole a quick glance at the princess, who was watching her shoes very carefully, which made the youngest knight wonder if she would in fact bed another woman if it didn't mean certain death for either person.

"One more question, if you please-"

"Sir Rhyse, if you argue over little matters such as this, then I suggest you find new subject of conversation. Please, my wife and I are tired, and my daughter has been speaking of exhaustion since the 3rd round of the joust. Please make it quick." King Bruce put himself in such a posture that told the dark knight he was serious and that this last question better be worth his time.

"Yes, yes of course. What would you say if all that has happened... in this very castle, and the whole time I was talking about... perhaps... Gabriel, maybe?"

"That is quite an accusation, and an innocent person could be put to death." The exhausted king turned to Gabby, and she felt all the blood in her body run cold. She couldn't look at anyone, knowing what was to come." Is this true Gabriel Andrew?" He knew the answer by the youngest knight's posture, but felt he had to give out a chance. He owed that much for saving the life of his daughter.

"Yes." One syllable, less than one voice, two deaths. King Bruce closed his eyes, then sighed.

"Take her away from me. She dies at dawn."

"NO!" Thadius bellowed, but it went unheard as he was held back by Guy and the guard that stood closest to him, which was the guard that normally protected the king himself. Still, he fought to protect Gabby, but the two guards succeeded in keeping him at bay. King Bruce seemed angry now, knowing that a scandal had happened within his castle walls.

"And get her whore. She dies tonight." The third guard, the one which protected Queen Selina, roughly took Gabby's arms. She didn't fight him. She couldn't... She didn't want to.

"Father please!" Gabby was surprised when Princess Helena spoke up, placing a firm hand on her father's shoulder. "You forget that she's saved my life, woman or not."

"You know the rules of my court." The king waved his daughter off.

"If she hadn't been there, that man Cameron would have slit my throat and left me for dead. If she hadn't been there, I would have died, and when you die, there'd BE no more rules of the court!" Princess Helena said.

"Please, Bruce..." Queen Selina said in her gentle voice that wouldn't have been heard if King Bruce had chosen to respond at that point. "She saved our daughter. It is only one life spared."

"Fine." he said in an equally gentle voice, which seemed obvious that it was reserved only for his wife, "I'll spare your life," he said to Gabby, "and you can watch your lover die. I care not." The guards let go of Thadius as he stopped struggling in their hold. Guy grumbled something in which no one heard, nor asked him to repeat, as the third guard did the same to the youngest knight, releasing her. Thadius' face became neutral. Gabby spoke strongly for the first time in what seemed like many hours.

"No! I'll do anything." She pleaded, "Please Your Majesty, you mustn't harm Dinah. I- I can't let you. You can kill me if you must take a life." The king was impressed with Gabby's offering, and stayed silent as if to consider just going to bed and leaving things be. For a minute or more, she actually believed it was a possibility.

"Your execution's at dawn. Like I said before 'I care not'. My word is final. Good night, gentlemen. Ketterly, walk with Guy to the dungeons, then keep on your guard tonight. I need you to awaken me." With that, the king, his daughter, and his wife walked away, Princess Helena turning to look at Gabby with a look that seemed to say she was sorry, but also that she admired her. Guy did as he was told and grabbed a hold of Gabby's arms and forced her to walk in front of him.

"Gabe!"

"May the Lord have mercy on your soul, _'Gabriel'_!" Sir Rhyse called after them. There was a thud, and then Gabby heard Thadius speak as they got further and further away.

"Listen here, you low life sunnova bitch! From now on you better sleep with one eye open, or better, yet not at all, because one of these nights you'll fall into your drunken slumber and never wake up!" the oldest knight growled. More words were exchanged while Gabby walked the dark corridors of the Wayne castle. They stopped in front of the stone steps leading down into a dark dungeon, and Gabby was pushed down them, knowing she hit her head on at least 3 of them. She groaned when Guy picked her up again, practically ripping her arm from it's socket.

"Sorry about that." the guard said in a voice that clearly stated he wasn't. He locked Gabby's right foot in a chain linked to the very back wall, and threw a very thin blanket at her. She threw it in a different corner of the room after taking in it's foul smell and tried not to gag. Ketterly and Guy spoke to each other for many minutes, telling each other their favorite ways of execution. This was a way to scare Gabby, and it was heavily working. She sat down and put her head on her knees as she tried to block out their dialogue.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

_"Dad! Show me how to swing at the bad guys again!" A ten year old Johnny Boy ran to his father, whom had not been home from his latest tournament for more than a day._

_"You know I am not supposed to be doing that while Gabrielle is watching. Her father will get angry with me."_

_"I promise not to tell. I don't want Johnny Boy getting the upper hand in Dragonhunt." Gabby pleaded. Johnny Boy's father smiled. He liked Gabby, and often enjoyed showing her how to block certain moves that he'd shown Johnny Boy just days before. It made watching them play interesting. He chuckled._

_"I'll tell you kiddies what. If you let me rest for a while, I will show you how to make arrows like me an' my brother used ta' when we was younger. Then I will show you both how to shoot 'em, but only if you promise not to tell your father, Gabby. And Boy, I better not be hearin' 'bout you shooting animals with these, you hear me? It will be your hide."_

_"Yes father."_

It was cold. The floor was damp beneath her, covered in moss, water, and she didn't want to think of what else. No, she didn't want to think of anything. Gabby didn't know why that one thought entered her head. Perhaps she wanted a happy thought to keep her mind from thinking of what was to happen. She'd by now cried every single tear, silently of course so that Guy and Ketterly couldn't hear her and taunt her for them. All that crying had gotten her was a parched mouth and swollen eyes. 'Perhaps where I go tears won't exist... or perhaps I'll be in too much pain to cry. I wonder what Death would be like. Would I rise above my own body just as my head hits the ground? Would I see nothing but blackness and that's the end? Would I actually meet God or the devil himself long enough to ask Him 'Why'? Would I see Dinah again in an afterlife? Would she recognize me then? Would I become a ghost and haunt those I love until the day THEY die? No, I would never do that to them. Not if I claim to love them so. Would Dinah forget about me and move on with her life as she raised Carolyn's son alone? I didn't even get a chance to see him, to welcome him to the world...' she thought, lifting her head long enough to lean it against the wall, which seemed like a hard task, as her head along with the rest of her body seemed to weigh a ton. There were sounds all around her that only the silence could intensify: Guy's occasional cough, a small breeze that whispered Dinah's name all around her, the sound of a rat as it scuttled around somewhere near her, most likely searching of food where Gabby knew there never had been any... She felt she'd go mad in there before dawn.

Gabby tried once again to think of happy thoughts: summertime, Dinah, what the Lance baby must look like, Dinah, Diable' Blanc, whom she'd never kept her promise of freedom to... Dinah, her childhood before becoming a knight... and surely the seer had entered her mind sometime during all that. These thoughts only reminded Gabby of what she'd lost... what she'd lose come dawn. She then noticed that Guy and Kettely were no longer talking. In fact, Ketterly was gone. Guy met her eyes and then got up, walking slowly to the knight, stopping when she started to cower further to the wall, fearful that he'd start to beat her. "It's okay, Gabriel. I am sorry for pushing you down the steps. I had to put on a show for that bastard Ketterly. Real snitch, that man. I didn't think it would hurt you so badly, seeing the hits you took today in the joust. Look, you saved my life as well as the princess' yesterday, and woman or not, I need the chance to pay that back." he said, making Gabby look up at him. "I have told your father to come by tonight. I know what the king says, but he wouldn't hurt me. Anyway, I told Sir Thadius Manx to come here with a plan and to talk to me about it. I know my father wouldn't hurt me for this."

"You-You're a prince? Then what was Helena saying about no more court without me being there to save her... and all that?" Gabby asked, clearly confused.

"That is a long story." Guy muttered, but Gabby would hear just about anything in the silent darkness of the room at that point.

"Doesn't look like I have anywhere else to go at this point, and I suppose a bedtime story will take my mind off of the fact that I will die tomorrow."

"Your death will be quick, as mine is a slow torture." Guy said, then looked down as Gabby frowned in thoughtfulness and confusion. Still Guy didn't explain his cryptic words.

"What?" Gabby finally asked.

"The princess found me when I was a baby. I was on her horse trails left to die." The guard crouched down next to her, then lowered himself to the floor so that he was facing her.

"But, you're nearly twice her age." Gabby said.

"In looks perhaps, but I have only walked the earth for a month's time." Gabby was about to say something when the guard just shushed her. "You want a bedtime story or not?"

"Yeah." The knight was curious to know how such a thing could ever come to pass.

"Then listen to the narrator and don't interrupt." She only nodded. "I wasn't born. I was created. I was a spell gone wrong. A man was fooling with the craft in the middle of the forested parts of the horse trail. He fled in the middle of his spell when he heard horses, thinking no one would ride the trails at that time. I do not know who he was, and I have a feeling he is dead now. I feel it within me. I think I was the result of that. Princess Helena found me, and she took me to the castle. Since the King and the Queen couldn't seem to conceive anymore children and heirs to the throne, they adopted me, yet it was Helena whom I trusted, her being the first voice I heard, the first touch I felt. It was her whom had cared for me. Her and sometimes the Healer. You see, I breathe, I eat, I sleep, just like any other human, but I grow... I grow much faster than any man. In a matter of days, I will be older than your father, Thadius in looks."

"How can you know to talk, and walk, as infant children have to learn these things?"

"I just knew within me, just as I somehow knew that the man died not long after I was created, the spell being the reason he would have lived had he completed it correctly. I just knew how to walk and talk read and fight... But the more important things about life, how to be a real man, how to love... I learned that from Helena. She loves me like any mother would a child, yet she is, in King Bruce's eyes, my sister." Guy stopped talking, and Gabby thought this through. "You know about these people, the ones whom have magiks within them. Cameron was one of them, and if I was born, I would say that this was my magic."

"I was told these aren't magiks, but a gift within them that God had given them at birth. I just wish those with these gifts used them to help others." 'Like Dinah and the masked women in her dream.'

"Perhaps. You should know that though my life isn't worth saving, I am grateful for the fact that you saved Helena's life. She is my life, you know? I don't know how my last few weeks of life would be without her." he said, as if he was thinking about it and not liking the thoughts in his head. He shuddered violently.

"I was just doing what any knight should. Besides that, Cameron was getting to me with his 'real man' nonsense. Telling me he was to show me who was the bigger man and such... I know what a bigger man should be like. I learned from the best of 'em." Gabby went silent as she thought about Thadius and everything that has happened in the last couple of weeks. "Well, I suppose I should be thankful too. I've always wondered about soul mates and true love and all that in which the bards speak of. I was blessed to have known it before I died. Even if Dinah had never returned my feelings, I will know at least what it feels like to fall from the sky, never to land." Guy remained silent. "I- I'm sorry."

"No worries, Lass. I do know what it is like to love, and though it isn't quite in the way you have, it is still love for and from another, and it was given with all my heart. And I do love Helena and Selina, and even King Bruce when he's not barking orders at me."

"If your souls are intertwined, and if you believe that God gives us second chances at life as I do, then know that perhaps in time you will meet again. Know that you will always protect and care for each other." Gabby said. "I know Dinah and I will meet again... someday. Even if we never become lovers again, which I hope doesn't happen, then I still want to see Dinah again. To be near her in another life, to protect her, though let me tell you, she doesn't need much protection. Something tells me that she will be the one someday protecting me." Gabby said. She realized she was babbling, but also found that Guy didn't seem to mind listening to her. She watched Guy after her stream of consciousness.

"Something tells me she will always be protecting me, too. Helena, I mean."

"If you ever met with Helena again, what do you think you'd tell her if you never got a chance to tell her now?" she asked curiously.

"I'd let her know how happy she's made me in my short life, and that I want the same for her." he said without a beat. Gabby nodded and smiled warmly at the guard.

"I'm sure you will get a chance to tell her." She said. Guy put a hand on her knee in comfort and they sat in silence as they drifted into their own thoughts. While the guard thought of what his short future life would be like, Gabby thought of what her future with Dinah in this life would have been like if Rhyse hadn't found out about her true sex.

_"I missed you." Dinah would say as Gabby got off of Nix after going to battle with the rest of King Alfred's army. The boy, still but a tyke, would be in her arms and she couldn't look lovelier with him in her arms. Gabby would kiss her wife, then take her hand as they put the battle behind them and walk into their home set on the land that King Bruce had given her but a year or two ago. She'd attempt to rest after her long journey home, but becomes restless without the presence she'd missed the most while she was away for a month's time. The knight would get up and see the smile upon her lover's lips, and hear the sound of laughter from the child she never hesitated to claim as hers. Her heart would melt as she watched them play together, knowing that the boy would become something great, even if he was only a farmer. The boy would know the ways of being a man from the very best, his grandsire, who would be too stubborn to fall ill at his ripe old age like most men of his age._

_"He's growing way too fast."_

_"That he is, as they always do." Dinah would reply. Gabby would smirk and join them in their play, the baby boy watching the one he'd always know as his sire with wonder as if to ask where he had come from, as he hadn't seen him enter the room in his play..._

'Who am I kidding?' Gabby thought as she shook the fantasy away from her as quickly as she could, wiping the tears away. Guy saw her start to cry and didn't seem to know what to do. He had only seen Princess Helena cry once, and that was the night before, after Gabriel had gone after the attack and the punishment for that evil man Cameron. Guy was close to Helena, so it seemed like nothing was more fitting than the comfort that he had provided for the young woman, but he wasn't sure what to do with the knight. She seemed so strong throughout the tournament and the attack of her and the princess, and to see her fall apart like this almost scared the guard. He was concerned for her, but still he didn't move towards her, and wished and prayed for Thadius to come for her. He would know how to comfort her as the guard didn't. Maybe comfort from Sir Thadius Manx will help, as his encouragement and love seemed to help her throughout the tournament. As the tears fell from her face, Guy wondered if someone was really ever worth the tears, but looking back at Gabby, he knew that to Gabriel, this seer really was worth every single tear cried for the rest of her life...

"Hello?" Guy got up immediately and let the voice into the room. Thadius was at Gabby's side in less that 4 strides.

"Hey," he said so softly that it didn't seem right to come from such a man. "I have come to take care of this, and I will, I promise."

"No. Don't make promises you aren't sure you can keep." Gabby said. "You should be taking care of your family-"

"And that is what I am doing."

"No. Take Irene and your daughters and leave."

"DAMN IT GABRIELLE!" he shouted, scaring both Guy and Gabby. She fell in to silence, shocked that Thadius had used her real name. He cursed at himself and his voice softened as he realized the fear in Gabby's eyes. "That is what I am doing. I am not leaving without my daughters. ALL of them." he stressed. "My family... is being torn apart. I have two daughters in my quarters crying, one in a darkened dungeon, and my is wife riding the trails on her own to clear her head. I can't just pack up and leave part of this family behind. Whether you like it or not, you are a Manx, and even if you didn't know this, you always have been, ever since you came to live with us. I will not let you die without putting up one hell of a fight, and I promise you THAT, B- Gabrielle."

"I-I prefer Gabby."

"So Irene said. I just wanted to hear that from you." he said. "Now, if I hadn't signed you up for this tournament, or had at least respected your wishes not to get involved with the princess, you wouldn't be in here, and you would be safe."

"This is not your fault. I left my family in the Gotham kingdom so that I wouldn't hurt them with my desperation to be a knight. I don't want to hurt you." Gabby said, feeling yet another tear fall. Thadius wiped it away and placed a kiss on her forehead, which was the thing she needed. This was the first time someone was treating her more like a lady other than Dinah and though it felt almost foreign to her, it was still just the thing she needed.

"Hush now, Gabby. The only thing that would hurt me is if you gave up while there is still life left in you. You are the best knight I have ever known, you know that. Any woman would have known nothing but love and pride in being your wife. You are better than any man I've ever met, and knight or not, you make me proud, Gabrielle."

"I learned from the best."

"So did I." Thadius said. Gabby was confused by his comment, and Thadius smiled warmly at the younger knight. "They say in ancient scrolls that mentors learn just as much, if not more from their subjects than they teach. I believe each and every word of it. I have learned so much from you, never having a squire to train before. I don't know how, but you have opened my eyes to many things in the years you have been with me, with us. Your presence has changed my existence greatly. How can you tell me to leave something so great behind?" Gabby hugged the older knight.

"Thank you." They were just the words she needed to hear, and most of the worries about 'would anyone truly miss me when I'm gone' left her instantly, knowing that she would be. This also made her feel guilty, but she knew there was nothing she could do, and though Thadius had hopes that he would fight for and somehow win her life, she didn't have as much faith. She felt honored that such a man would fight so for her to live. 'If I could be with Dinah again, that would be living. To be saved and not be with her... well that is just giving me back my existence.'

"Can I get you anything? Do you need me to get anything for you before dawn?" Thadius asked softly.

"Tell Dinah I love her. Tell Alexis that she gets Nix, for I know how much she loves him so... Tell Elizabeth and Irene I said thank you... for everything... and you... Take care of Dinah, alright? She has a little boy to care for now- He's not mine, that is impossible." she said quickly at Thadius' look. "It isn't even hers, actually... Look, she will need all the help she gets, so please, for me?"

"Don't talk like that. You are not going to die tomorrow, and when we get back to the Pennyworth kingdom, you will help her take care of that little boy yourself. I better go now before I get caught. I will see you in a few hours." Thadius said, putting his palm on her left cheek, a couple of fingers going into her hair. "Ugh," he said in disgust. "You're due for another hair cut. Whomever did it last time should be hung."

"It was you who cut my hair, Thadius." Gabby said in a hoarse whisper.

"I take that back then." he said chuckling softly. Gabby smiled. "That is what I like to see. He sure did a number on you, didn't he?" the older knight asked, inspecting her face where there were various scraps and cuts from the tournament and beyond.

"Rhyse didn't hurt me all that bad, considering." She said.

"I wasn't talking about him. You can handle him. I was talking about Guy."

"He didn't mean it."

"I know, but I still got him one for it anyway." he said smiling. "I will see you soon." he whispered, patting the cheek once. He stood up and walked towards the door where Guy held it open for him. He was at her doorway when Gabby spoke up.

"Goodbye Thadius." She said with finality and closure.

"Goodbye Gabby. You will see another sunset. This I promise you." With those words, the middle aged knight was gone.

_"Come on, Johnny Boy, it was just a game." the 17 year old said to her life long friend, who was sitting on the ground where he fell from the impact of the girl's final swing._

_"Yes, but a girl beat me at this game, and I created it! That is just not fair." he pouted. Gabby looked at Johnny Boy. She knew she should have just let him win, but what kind of knight would he be if everyone just let him win and he didn't earn his victories? Johnny Boy smiled shortly after his pout to show that there was no hard feelings. "Help me up, will ya'?" Gabby did so, and patted his back once he regained his footing. "That was a nice swing. Next time, I am going to be the ultimate knight, and you can be the evil dark warlord." h e said. He handed Gabby the shield they'd made from an old pillow and the stick/sword that was marked as belonging to the dark warlord, and Gabby handed over the wooden sword and the rusted shield that was marked as belonging to the gallant and loved knight. They held them as well as they could, trying to get a good grip on them._

_"Ready?" Gabby asked after she fitted the 'armor' the best she could. Johnny Boy already had his ready and was waiting patiently for his friend. He nodded. "Alright, on the count of three alright?"_

_"Alright." he agreed._

_"One..."_

_"Two..."_

_"Three!" Gabby and Johnny Boy both made their own little war cry before running towards each other once more, ready to attack..._


	17. Chapter 18

**Chapter 17**

*From this chapter on is the other ending I had just added to the story. I still feel as if there is something missing but for the life of me, I cannot figure it out. If you are seeing something I am not, please please _please_ let me know.*

"Rise and shine. It's time to die." The voice belonged to Guy, and Gabby felt herself swallowing the lump in her throat. The tone in Guy's voice made her wonder if she'd dreamt of his kind words about the princess and about how he came to be. Perhaps he told the story just to humor her, in which case was better for her because it had the desired effect of keeping her mind from thinking about death for a while. Gabby looked up at the guard, whom had Ketterly right next to him. The look on Guy's face clearly showed he was sorry for what he was a bout to say and do. Gabby nodded slightly and gave him the silent message that it was okay. The knight let out a small grunt as she was roughly unchained and lead out of the dungeon. She was pushed roughly from behind by Ketterly once as she was walking stiffly and therefore not fast enough for the king's assistant. The light hit her eyes and she had to shut them against it, as the had started to hurt. She slowly opened them seconds later, not trusting the two men around her to guide her. She looked up to see that the sun was rising, promising what looked to be a bright day. 'It figures that the sun would shine on the day I die.' Gabby thought bitterly. They made their way to the jousting field where she looked up at Cameron's cage. His lifeless body seemed to stare down at her, partially accusing, and if the dead could talk, the knight was sure Cameron would say with his tongue what his cold eyes weren't. She wondered if even as dead as those eyes were, if they'd still watch her die. She shuddered.

She heard the chanting and the booing before she saw the audience. And there was quite an audience there to watch her die, and she wondered if they were all like this. Gabby had only seen one execution and that was when she was five or six, quite too young to remember the details, but it made her afraid of fire for 3 years at last afterwards. When Johnny Boy invited her to camp in the woods with him and his sister Beth, she started to feel more comfortable with fire as she sat and stared at the flames.

There were many different chants being shouted at her, one of the loudest being 'Sinner' 'Witch' and 'Filthy'. They had moved out an old tree stump and knelt her before it. Gabby could smell the blood of those who died before her. She was forced to look up at the king above her as she watched the executioner (who was Ketterly with a wooden mask on and hidden under a large cloak) sharpen his blade on his stone wheel. King Bruce waved his hand in a short motion and the people of the crowd went silent. Gabby looked around with her eyes, but didn't see any of her family. Part of her felt lonely since she would die seeing unfriendly faces, and the other part of her was glad because she didn't want someone's last memory of her to be her head rolling across the dirt. "Gabrielle Manx, you have been accused of impersonating a knight and bewitching the Pennyworth kingdom's seer."

"KILL HER!!"

"SHE'S VILE!!"

"SILENCE!!!!" Ketterly called to the crowd, and they did as they were told. Ketterly nodded to the king, who continued.

"I am grateful for the fact that you have saved my daughter, the princess Helena Wayne of the Wayne kingdom and you have been offered your freedom," There was the sound of a baby crying, a pierce to Gabby's ears, yet not harmful. She wondered briefly what type of child could make such a sound. "However," the king continued, but Gabby was distracted by the pitch of the babe's cries (now turned to screaming), which seemed to increase as each second passed, "you made the choice to sacrifice yourself for your lover, and so your sentence is death. I pray God forgives you for your sins." Gabby waited. Suddenly that screaming turned into an indescribable... note, causing everyone including the king and the rest of the royal family to cover their ears. Gabby looked about to see Dinah just barely hidden in a cloak she that knew belonged to Irene, for she was wearing that very cloak the day before when they spoke on the horse trails. She was holding onto the boy, and didn't seem affected by his scream. She seemed to focus on something, and though she was looking in her direction, Dinah wasn't looking at her.

The axe that Ketterly had in his hands seemed to leap from the ground and into the audience where the princess and Sir Rhyse sat side by side holding hands. The blade landed quite forcefully on the wooden seat between the dark knight's legs, nearly castrating him. The older knight paled and looked as if he would faint. It was then that the screams started up again.

"SHE CURSED IT!"

"SHE'LL KILL US ALL IF WE DON' T KILL HER FIRST!" Gabby heard the crying of the baby still, knowing know that it was the cries of Carolyn Lance's son. The woman didn't know what to think of this. She was sure that if the boy was to have any power at all it would be the resistance of fire, but perhaps one can have two of these magic? The cries once more became higher in pitch. Gabby wondered why no one caught on that this baby was causing the chaos of the jousting field, but she was too busy trying to look for them again, Dinah and the baby. They both seemed to have vanished, yet the cries were still there as if the babe and Dinah never moved. Gabby felt a firm grip around her waist and suddenly found herself on the back of a horse. The horse was running faster than she's ever gone on a horse before and the person behind her was screaming for the horse to go faster still.

Thadius stopped the horse after many minutes of running, and there was a thump on the ground. Gabby was helped from the horse by her rescuer. Thadius had taken small balls of cloth from his ears, which was probably why he wasn't affected by the baby's high pitched screams. Suddenly, Gabby was pulled into a huge hug by the bear of a man next to her. "You're alive!" The man's shoulders shook, and Gabby realized that he was sobbing. "Thank God you're alive!" She looked up the heavens and closed her eyes, thanking God for her life, promising that she will do all in her power to live it this time and not to waste this chance she's been given. Many more minutes later the man pulled away looking more than a little embarrassed. They said nothing as they both let their blood settle within them, and minutes later Carrah was seen galloping to them, Dinah holding the reigns expertly with one hand, and a slightly disturbed, but not frightened or upset baby in the other. She hopped off as if she's ridden the horse all of her life and grabbed Gabby's shirt front, bringing her towards the seer's lips.

"Don't ever do that to me again, or I will kill you myself." Dinah said before claiming the other woman's lips. When they broke apart, Thadius turned red with his embarrassment.

"Yeah, what she said... without that last... bit." Gabby laughed at the knight and nodded.

They rode hard and by dusk that night, they reached the Manx household, only to see a sight that made All three riders' blood run like ice in their veins. Horses surrounded Thadius' man made land barrier with riders waving the colors of both the Wayne kingdom and the Pennyworth kingdom. They would have easily been out run if they chose to turn and escape. The reached the end of the line.

"Gabrielle Manx, Thadius Manx and Dinah Redmond, you are to dismount your horse immediately." King Alfred's assistant, Wade Brixton demanded. Gabby slid off of Thadius' horse slowly and was grabbed roughly by the arms by two Wayne guards. She heard Thadius growl at the men to leave him alone, and that he wanted to know where is wife and children were. Gabby just barely heard that they were in the Pennyworth castle with King Alfred and King Bruce while they all waited for the fugitives arrival.

"Get in the carriage!" Gabby heard in her ear. She climbed in and the doors shut. Almost immediately, she lurched forward. She saw out the back wind of the cold carriage that Thadius was getting into a carriage with Dinah and the newborn baby.

"I only prolonged my death." Gabby said slowly as the carriage seemed to pick up speed. She thought of her escape and wondered if Things would get any worse than they already have been. The carriage rocked violently with an urgency to get to the castle, and after many moments, it abruptly stopped. Shouting was heard outside as all the other horses' hooves came to a complete stop somewhere behind her carriage.

"Get them inside!" she heard Wade Brixton shout, right before her carriage door opened. She stepped out, and was face to face with the king's assistant. "I promise you, Seer, you are safe within these castle walls. The king always keeps his promise." He said to Dinah with a look that Gabby could not quite interpret. It was a mix of distaste and concern, and odd mix of expressions. Gabby was taken by her left arm and lead inside. The Pennyworth castle isn't much smaller than the Wayne castle, but as some sort of illusion, it seemed so because the decorated tapestries and candles weren't placed about as so. King Alfred found it somehow boastful to have his wealth lying everywhere, and perhaps that was why when on her stroll with Princess Helena, Gabby had seemed a little uncomfortable with her choice of attire. The path taken to the great hall was different this time, though Gabby knew her way around the castle, being a regular guest there after the war. The guard holding on to her arm entered the great hall first and seemed to have the appearance of dragging Gabby after him, possibly to look better for his king.

"Are they all here, Silus?" King Alfred asked him. The king stood up from his seat, where he was drinking a cup of ale with King Bruce and Guy, and looked at the guard. Silus nodded after her bowed to him. Neither said nothing as King Alfred and King Bruce stared at Gabby. Standing next to King Bruce was Selina, Helena and Barbara. Helena was wiping her eyes, and Barbara stood by her with some cloth for her to use. The princess thanked the Healer, and Barbara smiled warmly and fondly. She seemed worried as well, and tried to hide it for the princess. On the other side of Helena, Sir Rhyse stood, glaring at Gabby as if she had no right to even look in Helena's direction. He held on possessively to the prices' hand and Gabby was almost certain she saw Helena wince.

"Yes, Your Majesty." King Alfred waved him off and he left. Gabby could only bow to the king, and refused to get up until he had told her she could. She knew how deep she was in trouble with both kingdoms and she didn't want to make it worse. She heard shifting and the sound of fabric around her as the rest of her family came into the room.

"You all may go." King Alfred said to the many guards from both Kingdom. There was a silence then everyone left, as if the Wayne Guards weren't sure if they should leave their king with the likes of Gabby and Thadius. There was the sound of shifting before Gabby was given permission to stand. She looked down at her feet though. "Gabrielle, I would like to know what happened," the king said softer than she ever thought she would hear a man speak to her anymore. "Of course, King Bruce, Sir Rhyse and Princess Helena have all told me what they knew of the story, but you, being the one present at all times, know all the rest, so please tell me your side of the story." Gabby bowed quickly and began to speak.


	18. Chapter 17

**Chapter 18**

Gabby's lips moved wildly as she told her king what had happened, why she became a knight, when she met Thadius Manx, and everything that happened throughout the tournament. She hadn't just seduced a woman to get her into bed with her. She was in love with the seer. "You... You didn't want to win the princess then?" The king asked.

"She is a very lovely young lady, but I wasn't looking for anyone to marry. I knew I couldn't." Gabby said truthfully.

"Somewhere along the way, even before that first night we had fallen into bed, I had fallen for Dinah." Gabby whispered. "Everything from then on is true, M'Lord."

"While you were within Bruce's kingdom, he chose the penalty of your actions. Now that you are within my borders, I decide your fate. You do know that you have been accused of kidnapping a child from the Wayne Kingdom. don't you."

"I- I have?" Gabby asked, knowing that the king was talking about the newborn babe wrapped up in Dinah's arms right at that moment.

"I have over looked it, as the mother has given the Wayne Healer written word that Dinah was to care for the child." King Alfred held up two small rolls of parchment and a small bit of paper.

"Much to my displeasure... " King Wayne muttered.

"I understand that you have disobeyed the rules of the court and have even gone against the word of god, but I cannot find it in my heart to harm you or Dinah after what you have done for me. As a king I have been near death many times, and I owe you both your lives in return. But the law then still states that a woman cannot be knighted, so I am given no choice but to strip you of that title." Gabby looked down, but she felt oddly calm with this decision. She knew that if she were to live through this, her life as a knight or woman will never be the same. At that point she was glad that she was going to live through this, as King Alfred had just promised her life. She wasn't sure though that she would get her land that King Bruce had given her, and without that, she wasn't sure what to do. "As a woman, you cannot own any land, Gabrielle." the king seemed to read her mind. "I can give your land to your father, Thadius, but you yourself cannot own it."

"If that is the case, you know that land is as good as yours, Gabby. It only has my name on the deed." Thadius stepped closer to her. King Alfred nodded.

"That will be acceptable. Thadius Manx, as long as you sign the deed and pay the taxes on the land, then you may do what you will with it."

"Thank you sir." Gabby was afraid to ask the next question. She had her land, she had her life... but did she have Dinah?

"Do I live on my lands alone?" King Alfred looked a little saddened.

"I know that you will never marry a man, and that is unfortunate-"

"Why? Why must she marry a man if they weren't hurting anyone with their obvious love for each other?" Princess Helena asked, making everyone look at her.

"Helena!" King Bruce scolded. "You know that is against God's words."

"There is a reason for everything, father. If god didn't want women to love other women, he would not have put that emotion in Gabby's heart."

"What has gotten into you?" Sir Rhyse asked. Helena looked down at their joined hands, and pulled hers out of his. There was a look of what Gabby thought might be satisfaction on Barbara's face when she had done that, and it made her wonder as well what had gotten into the princess. Why was she fighting so hard for her?

"Nothing, Father." the princess said. "But if god didn't want Gabby in love with Dinah, then he wouldn't have allowed her to feel anything for her. Together their love must mean something, even if it is just raising that little boy together."

"I will not listen to another word of this nonsense. I do not want to hear another word from you!"

"Gabrielle is a good woman. She made an excellent man. She fooled you for 7 years, and I am sure she hurt herself more than she hurt anyone else. She deserves the happiness Dinah can give her."

"what is wrong with you? Why are you doing this?" King Bruce asked in a hiss, trying to get his daughter to sit down and be quiet.

"Because I am in love with a woman as well." There was a sudden silence in the room and Gabby looked between Barbara and Helena. 'Of course.' Gabby thought to herself. 'Why else would my sentence hurt her so? "So what are you going to do father?"

"Oh Lord..." Selina moaned as King Bruce stared at his daughter in shock. He looked over at Gabby as if to ask her what ideas has she gotten inside his daughter's head, but no words came from his mouth. Gabby looked down once more. Her life was changing so rapidly in a matter of hours.

"Are you going to try and kill me too, father? Take my lover away and try and kill her too?"

"You know I wouldn't do that to my own daughter."

"Then why do that to her?" No one said anything.

"Who, then?" King Bruce asked.

"I will not say." Princess Helena shifted on her feet and the silence continued.

"Was it the Healer? Is that why you always went to her for help with Guy?" the king asked softly. Barbara's eyes widened some, but she didn't do anything else.

"Yes." Princess Helena said.

"Then you must leave the castle. Both of you. I cannot have this in my kingdom." King Bruce said after the longest silence Gabby had ever been in. She could see that this decision was killing the king inside, and she knew that he couldn't kill his lovely daughter. There was a look of great anger on Sir Rhyse's face. Of course this meant that the engagement was off, since Helena was no longer a princess as of that point, and she was sure that he had lost a great deal, a mother for his son, the throne, a large dowry, and most importantly perhaps... his pride.

"What of your throne?" King Alfred asked King Bruce.

"Guy will produce an heir to the throne, since he is my family." King Bruce said slowly.

"He doesn't have time." Gabby heard Helena say.

"He has a few days." the king rubbed his eyes. Guy seemed uncomfortable and Thadius stared at the guard, him not knowing what was going on between the royal Wayne family. Guy nodded a moment later.

"Yes, I have a few days. More than I need." he said, rolling his eyes.

Helena and Barbara left the great hall intending to go back to the Wayne kingdom to pack their things. They were to vanish in the morning, no one knowing where they were headed, including themselves. Both women were very glad that they had gotten out of there as quickly as they could, not able to stand the looks and the silence much longer, though Barbara was concerned that their love may not give them what they need to survive. As for Gabby and Dinah, well, their fate was still in Alfred's hands. She knew that no matter what, she had a place to stay, and that Dinah had a place to live and care for the baby, but she wasn't sure of the king would allow them to ever see each other again. He seemed to think very hard on what to do. Then he smiled softly and handed Gabby a piece of paper. "Do you know how to read, Gabby? Has the Manx's ever taught you?"

"Yes, Thadius taught me before he taught me how to swim and fish." The king seemed pleased to hear this.

"And can you write as well?"

"Yes sir." The ex-knight was rewarded with another smile.

"Then I believe I have a proposition for you, and a job as well." Gabby looked briefly into the king's eyes and saw he was almost relieved as if he didn't want to make his other decision had he not come up with this said proposition. "As you know it is a rarity to run into those that can read. Normally, only the monks know how to read and write, though we are coming to an age where we need our nights of the kingdom to know how to read as well. Not all of my knights know how to read, as you may already have seen. I need you to teach them. If you stay in my employ until I feel you are no longer needed, I will keep a blind eye to the goings on in your household. Who you love is your own business. And as this will be a job for you, I will give you enough to provide for your family. Do you agree to these terms?" Gabby couldn't believe the words from her king's mouth. She still gets to be with Dinah, and everything she wanted, a family, a way to care for them, and her own land... it was all coming true for her. 'God must be smiling down on me now. Perhaps he always was, and I didn't know it. I promise to pray more, and I will never curse you again.' she thought to the skies.

"All has been said here that can be said. King Bruce will do what he will with his problems of his castle, but as far as you are concerned... you are all free to go. GUARDS!" There was a swirl of men coming to see what the king wanted of them. They were so loyal to this king, which was understandable to Gabby, as he was a good ruler. "take them back to the Manx household, and guide the guests from the Wayne Kingdome to the most comfortable rooms we have here."

"Yes your Highness."

Gabby and Thadius walked side by side, Gabby glad that he was watching out for her closely, but when they walked to the carriages, he went to check on his daughters and his wife to se if they were treated alright when they were held in the castle. Gabby walked up to Dinah and climbed into the carriage behind her, and looked down at the child and watching him sleep, hoping he isn't disturbed by anything unpleasant.

They reached the house when the sky was slowly beginning to lighten, and Gabby felt her heart swell at the sight of the house. The whole family was exhausted from the last couple of days of worry and tears, and so everyone was asleep within minutes of entering the house and covering up in linens. A couple of times throughout the morning, the baby cried for milk and attention as they tend to do, and Dinah seemed so graceful as she gave the boy the milk from the pouch Thadius had made, the one Gabby had told her about the fateful night their lives changed. Gabby tried to stay awake through this, but her body seemed to need the sleep, and her eyes closed not long after the boy's cries stopped.

Gabby awoke late in the day, nearing the evening, and she saw Dinah sleeping with the baby wrapped in a blanket on the floor beside her. The baby was awake, be he was quiet. This surprised the older blonde. "I think you wore her out." Gabby said softly to the boy, who studied her. She smiled at him when he gave her a look of confusion. She spoke to him some more, telling him about the Manx family and how he will love them. The baby started to fall asleep at the sound of her voice and soon his eyes were closed.

She walked outside where the sun was beginning to set and she watched it, knowing that Thadius had kept his promise and she hadn't believed he would. She should have known ber. She should have believed in him as he always believed in her. It was as if she didn't trust Thadius to be there for her after all the they had been through as a knight and squire. They were in this together, as friends, as family..., and she had no right to think otherwise. As if her thoughts summoned him, and as if he read her every thought like Dinah could, Sir Thadius Manx sat next to her, putting a cloak around her arms. Gabby didn't know when the large man had woken up, or if he had been sleeping, but she was glad she had his company. "I know you'll be out here for a while, and unlike last week before the tournament, the night will get cold. Didn't I tell you that you'd see this sight again?!" he said happily, following her gaze. "I told you, Gabby, and I kept my promise." Gabby nodded, and her guilt returned. "A Manx always keeps their promise." The blonde smiled softly, wiping a tear from her eyes. She was so used to being tough, and never drying a whole lot unless in pain that it seemed embarrassing to cry in front of Thadius.

"The sunset looks so much different, though I know it has never changed... It is so much lovelier than before, more colourful than I've ever seen it." Both Thadius and Gabby knew that after near death one tends to see things in a new light, and that light only seemed to get brighter.

**Epilogue**

Gabby and Dinah stood the next midday on a large wet field with a small forested area. 'My own land.' The seer held onto the small cage which still housed Diable' Blanc, and the knight was holding the baby boy for the first time. She felt she couldn't let him go. Dinah set down the cage and slowly opened the hatch, swinging open the door and watching as the rabbit just sat there. She nudged him out of the cage and he trotted off a little ways, and the two women watched him. Then Gabby stared down into the boy's eyes. He watched her carefully with his trusting coal colored iris'. If the boy wasn't the one to help save her, and if he wasn't so damned cute, Gabby would have sworn that he was also part demon, but she knew otherwise. Gabby felt a hand on her back and looked up to see that Dinah was leaning over her shoulder to look at him as well. Finally, the seer spoke.

"Carolyn has requested that I give the baby his birth father's last name." Gabby looked at her, trying not to show the disappointment. She was hoping that Dinah'd forgotten about that so that... So what So he'd take her last name? Become a Manx? "Seeing as it was her dying wish, I feel I must oblige to this request." she continued.

"Only thing to do." Dinah moved around so that she could see into her lover's eyes.

"Which is why I have decided to name him Lance Andrew Manx." Gabby's eyes widened. "Thadius and I wouldn't have it any other way." She smiled at the shock still on Gabby's face. In a small way, this boy was named after her, which was what she had wanted deep down since she saw him. " 'Listen here, Seer. If my Gabe survives tomorrow, that boy is a Manx, hear me?' " Dinah said in a gruff voice which was almost an exact impression of the middle aged knight.

"He actually said that?"

"In a much nicer way." Gabby bent her head back and laughed, then looked back into Dinah's eyes, which shone with her own smile.

"I love you." Gabby breathed.

"I love you." Dinah returned, leaning in to kiss the knight. When they broke away, Gabby leaned down to the baby.

"And I love you, Lad." she kissed the baby's forehead, which wasn't scorching skin as Dinah had felt it to be when he was first born. His skin was still much warmer than normal body temperature, but not enough to burn. Something told the knight that this would be the norm for the little boy, but nothing will stop her from loving him any less now that she already decided that she did.

The boy the boy grew to look like Carolyn, and one could tell right away if they knew the young woman, that the boy would grow to take on her dark blonde hair and green eyes. Yet something told her that whatever was inside this boy, the love, the things he'd learn... it would show, and maybe override the physical features so much so that it would be apparent that he took after those that cared for him. He'd have Dinah's touch, Gabby's courage, and Thadius' strength. In Gabby's mind, she will always be there for the boy as his sire, even if she had to let her hair grow out and wear dresses again. She knew she'd miss her life as a knight, but she would never go back and give up what she now has to stay a knight. She knew that no matter what, she would have chosen the same path, as her life is peaceful now. Her days from then on were somewhat routine, and she wasn't sure she liked it at first, but she got used to it, and as she looked at her own small family, she knew that life was perfect.


End file.
